Haven't you had enough?
by Alita Maralva
Summary: They met as children but a fatal accident pulled them apart. Now that time has passed and things have changed, would they end up together in the end? Serena will be enveloped in a high school drama full of love, rumors, schemes and unexpected events.
1. Chapter 1

I hope you like it, it is my first fanfic.

Spoiler alert: I don not own Sailor Moon!

I do own a couple of characters that you will meet along the way so please ask for permission to borrow them. But any way... here it is, I hope you like it!

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**Haven't you had enough?**

Chapter 1 

Fate or Accident?

It wasn't so long ago that a girl named Serena fell in love with the idea of being in love. She used to spend long hours dreaming about what it would feel like being actually in love, and she also used to dream about that magnificent man that would make her feel like falling head over heels.

She wondered if perhaps her Prince Charming could be one of her classmates or close friends. She also wondered how it would feel to kiss them or even feel just the innocent act of holding their hands. In all her 14 years of life, the girl would always fantasize of that genuine idea; love.

During school, she would also spend that time daydreaming of having someone to love. All of her notebooks books would collect a series of drawings that showed exactly what she wanted, a relationship; not to her father content of course, since he was a very jealous man of his younger daughter.

He would also worry of the day a boy would notice her beauty inherited of one perfect woman, his wife. Oh yes! Ken Tsukino worried a lot of the day her beautiful Serena would turn into a woman and another man would take her away from his care.

Time passed and Serena started losing her patience on the fact that no one had asked her out. What could she possibly be doing wrong? She always had her hair and teeth brushed. She always wore ironed clothes and perfume. What was she doing wrong?

The thing she was doing wrong had nothing to do with her in fact.

Our story begins on that terrible thing Serena didn't meant to do that set her dating life for good, or at least until one boy had the courage to ask her out.

No! She is not freighting at all! Just hear me out and you will understand why.

It was a Friday morning when Serena met her friends in the nearby park to go to school. She was running late as usual, so her running was a little justified. Then a very short breath Serena greeted her friends.

"Hhhhhi gggguys! " said Serena.

"Did you oversleep again? " said a very angry Rei, one of Serena's close friends who was the only child of a very celebrated politician, but because of his busy schedule sent her to be raised by his own father, an old priest from an old temple.

"I'm sorry you guys, seems like I may have to get another alarm clock" Serena said, blushing a bit out of embarrassment.

"I don't think that what you need is an alarm clock" said Rei a little bit angrier.

"What do you mean by that?" Serena asked, hurt by the comment.

"Whatever, let's just get going or we are never gonna get to school in time" said Lita, another of Serena's friends, a very tall, brunette girl that had a certain glint in her green eyes.

"Yes, I cannot afford another red mark on my attendance record!" said Amy, a genius girl that was an expert in chess and swimming that became friends with Serena not so long ago.

"Oh come on Amy that happened once!" said Mina, the last one of the group, a transferred student from England who always had a bright smile on her face and a very bubbly personality but that at times could be even clumsier that Serena herself.

"I don't care let's go, hurry up guys!" said Amy pulling both Serena and Rei from a staring match that had being going on like forever.

Fortunately, especially for Amy, they got to class just in time. They took separate ways as soon as they reached the school. During Friday mornings they had their elective class. So, Serena and Mina went to their Drama class, Lita went to her Cooking class; Rei went to her Music class, while Amy went to her Advanced Calculus class. It all looked like a very normal day until Serena crashed with a very tall looking wall. It was her habit not to look where she was going, so the casualty was inevitable.

Serena was walking backwards while talking to Mina about a guy she saw the day before at the bus stop and thought was really cute. Then, when she was starting to turn around, the unexpected wall came to her. She lost all of her balanced and decided that it would be more convenient to grab something, anything to avoid her fall. She then took the wall's arm to maintain her balance but by doing this the wall lost its. The wall then fell over poor Serena who was just recognizing the fact that the wall was in fact a person; and no ordinary person by any chance. Serena knew from long ago this person. They both looked straight into each others eyes…the person recognized her from somewhere and smiled. That was when Mina realized her friend's condition. So, something had to be done...she couldn't possibly leave her like, not that Serena was complaining.

"Serena, are you ok?" said Mina looking at them both and starting to kneel down and help her friend.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry" said Serena coming back to Earth just a little bit more flushed than before she arrived to meet her friends. Of course the color of her cheeks only intensified when she realized completely who she had crashed into. The person stood up from above her, while she was being helped by Mina to get up as well. Not looking into the person's eyes she tried to gather her things with Mina's help, who was trying with all of her will not to laugh her brains out at seeing Serena's reaction.

"Don't worry; just be a little bit more careful next time you decide to crash into someone." said Serena's crash victim with a bit of a harsh tone, the person looked really pissed too. But Serena did not take the comment all too well, to say the least.

"I said I'm sorry you great jerk! Seriously I already apologized, but nooooo. You think you can actually walk through the school's hallways without actually recognizing the fact that there are other people walking here too? Do you actually think you are some kind of king in the school that people have to move their way to give pass to you? You know what? Whatever! Come on Mina!" shouted a very pissed Serena graving Mina's arm who was almost crying from her reframe to laugh.

Steps later Mina decided to talk again.

"Serena, come on! That poor guy didn't do anything! Well... almost nothing. Why are you so angry? You look like you are about to have a panic attack, well no wonder…after that meltdown you had … what happened?" said Mina who now was laughing really hard. Yes, Serena's victim was indeed a young man.

"What are you laughing about? That guy was a real ass!" said Serena, now trying to contain herself from crying.

"First, the guy was Darien Shields" said Mina.

"I know who he was! Yes… I just committed social suicide" said Serena just realizing what just happened.

"No, I don't think he is like that at all." said Mina.

"Then what?" said Serena really confused.

"_I think he likes you!"_ said Mina really cheery and happy about Serena's little accident.

"And you say I have a problem with my daydreaming, come on Mina! We are late!" said Serena hurrying Mina up to the school theater.

"I still think he likes you. He was smiling when you met eyes with him. Serena, are you listening to me?" said Mina, who actually taught of herself as a goddess of love delegate on Earth… … … and yes she thought that Serena had a problem with daydreaming.

"No just shut up! We are late!" said Serena just as they arrive to their drama class.

Crashing into some popular guy doesn't sound as much when you think about it. Yelling at him… maybe. The whole school watching while yelling at him… now we are getting somewhere, but Mina was actually right, Serena not only had a problem with daydreaming: Darien wasn't a real jerk like Serena said, well maybe a little, but not completely.

Although that crash made Darien Shields realize something. The eyes of that girl! They were full of life; they had a shine that he hadn't seen in a very long time. He had dreamed of those eyes every single night when he was younger. He swore to himself to find those eyes. That girl, that peculiar girl, that snappish girl had those eyes. He needed to meet her, to know her name. He needed to know that girl!

"Darien!" called Darien's friend.

"What?" said Darien coming out of his thoughts.

"Welcome back!" said Darien's friend.

"What the hell is your problem Andrew?" said Darien.

"You just seemed a little distracted and in the middle of the school's corridor looking at nothing, that's all." said Andrew closing his locker as he talked to Darien.

"Do you know that girl from… well I don't know which grade she's in, but she was heading to drama… she was blonde, had blue eyes…" said Darien still thinking only of that beautiful blonde girl.

"What the hell are you talking about? Half the girls on our school are blonde!" said Andrew giving Darien a weird look on his face.

"Yeah but she had really long hair." said Dairen. "Do you know her?"

"Why do you immediately assume that I know her?" said Andrew starting to head to the soccer field.

"Well because you know everyone since you work at The Crown. Come on Andrew, I know you know." said Darien catching up to him.

"I know, but I'm not gonna tell you." said Andrew.

"Give me one perfectly good reason why not!" said Darien starting to get pissed.

"You have a girlfriend you idiot!" said Andrew.

"Damn it! You are right." said Darien.

"Of course I'm right. Did you forget about her while being all over another school girl?" said Andrew

"You saw that?" asked Darien.

"Of course I saw that! Probably everyone at school saw that!" said Andrew.

"Will you shut up Andrew? I just wanted to… … … well just shut up!" said Darien very frustrated and pulling back his hair.

"Sorry man, but I don't wanna see you hurt Serena's feelings, she is my friend." said Andrew.

Then a glint in Darien's eyes showed. Bingo! He thought. "Well, I guess I understand that Andrew." said Darien realizing Andrew's innocent mistake. _"_Just let me tell you that you my friend are a great idiot."

"What are you talking about?" said a very confused Andrew.

"Nothing man, nothing at all." finished Darien with a smirk on his face. Andrew being who he was didn't realize his mistake, and Darien wasn't going to let him know just yet.

So I guess you all know by now that Serena's mistake was crashing into the school's most popular guy, Darien Shields. But how was crashing into him social suicide? Well it wasn't, not really. The social suicide came moments after the crash.

"Where are you going?" asked Andrew to Darien who out of the blue was staring to go in the opposite direction from his class.

"Tell Mr. Collins that I will talk to him later; I have something to do" yelled Darien to Andrew as he started to run through the school corridor.

"Darien! Dairen, wait!" yelled Andrew back at his friend who couldn't possibly hear him now. "Where, could Darien be heading? Wait. That way is the school theater" said Andrew to himself, but why; was all he thought.

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Any comments or reviews would be highly appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews guys!!!!! I really hope you are enjoying the story.

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Chapter 2 A big surprise

Mina and Serena finally made it to class, everybody was already there: the geeks, the freaks, the people who actually thought of theater as a career, the writers, the bloggers, and some of the slackers, and the people who thought that taking drama would be easy and fun… poor idiots!

Mr. and Mrs. Lambert were the drama teachers. Brother and sister, totally crazy both of them, who often finished each other's sentences, they were really annoying at times, also they were very nosy and always would butt in into people's private business; they thought that people would appreciate an expert's point of view… that would actually help if they weren't a pair of total circus freaks, but you have to give it to them, they knew how to make the drama class very entertaining.

Carson and Camilla Lambert also hated for their students to be late, and when they were, they would make them suffer a lot for the class amusement.

Mina and Serena came in exactly 5 minutes after the bell rang; if that stupid wall would have remained mute they would have maybe arrived on time, but they didn't. They also would have come almost undetectable into the class if Serena hadn't tripped and fallen right into her face when entering.

"_So we are finally graced with the presence of our dynamic duo, God forbid for __anyone to try and separate them." _said Mrs. Lambert with please in her eyes at the look of her next victims.

"_Say sister, what do you propose we do with them today? Seriously girls, for much joy we all get at seeing our beautiful Serena fell over and over again; we can get a little bit tired of a good thing at times."_ said Mr. Lambert with equal please in his eyes, just like his sister.

"_Say Carson"_

"_Yes Camilla"_

"_Would it be fun, to make them be furniture for today? It would be an excellent exercise." _said Mrs. Lambert.

"_Yes indeed sister it would be nothing but fun, but it also occurs that we did in fact the same thing with Mr. Thomas the other day, the image of him being a couch still pops into my head from time to time."_ said Mr. Lambert.

"_Then we must come up with something else, but what could that be?__ … No matter…I'm sure Mr. Shields here has instead a very important announcement to make"_ said Mrs. Lambert and with that every single person drifted their attention to the door where Darien Shields stood.

"_Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Lambert"_ said Darien

"_Mr. Shields, what do we owe this pleasure?"_ said Mr. Lambert

"_Well I have come to class of course." _said Darien.

"_Mr. Shields, if my memory hasn't played an awful trick on me, you are not in this__ class nor have been this whole school year. We do not accept transfer students from other specialties" _said Mr. Lambert.

"_Who think of drama as an easy way out to achieve a high score"_ said Mrs. Lambert.

"_I'm extremely sorry Mr. Shields" _said Mr. Lambert

"_But you must be require somewhere else, I think Mr. Collins must be in the verge of having a heart attack that his favorite soccer star is nowhere to be found"_ said Mrs. Lambert.

"_I'm extremely sorry to disturb your class Mr. and Mrs. Lambert but I was under the impression that the auditions for the school play were today, I'm so sorry, it is so thoughtless of me __to come to your class…and late. You are right; Mr. Collins is probably looking for me, so I guess that the whole speech that I practice about wanting to participate on the school play on my senior year would be useless now. Again I'm sorry."_ said Darien to the professors and then he approach Serena who started to get white as a piece of paper as he continued approaching her. _"I'm sorry Serena; we are not going to be able to show them our little piece we practice. I hope you are not disappointed."_ said Darien to Serena but everybody could hear, specially our loony professors.

"_What are you talking about?"_ said Serena in a very angry whisper to Darien. He just showed his smile to her and then he moved his head to look to the professors and then to Mina. He winked at her, as if telling her in advance what was about to happen.

"_Camilla what was that my ears just heard. Darien Shields in the school play?"_ said Mr. Lambert

"_I'm sorry brother I was more shocked by the fact that Ms. Tsukino practice outside the class."_ said Mrs. Lambert who smile lightly when she saw Serena blush profoundly.

"_Mrs. Lambert he must be confused, I do not know him, I've never talked to him and I will be glad to be a couch for the rest of the year."_ said a very nervous Serena who was taking small steps away from Darien.

"_Oh come on Serena, we talk all the time"_ said Darien reaching for Serena's arm _"I think the entire school saw as taking just now when you fell over me. Seriously sometimes I feel like I can't get you off of me."_ said Darien to her with a very sexy voice and then he gave her a very sexy smile that could have melted anyone right there.

"_Have you taken your crazy pills today? For your information you fell over me!"_ screamed Serena to Darien (talking about the class amusement)

"_Oh Serena there is no need to be shy, don't worry, I'm sure your little s__ketch will be just perfect."_ said Mrs. Lambert.

"_Or at least very funny, go on Serena, Darien. The stage is yours."_ said Mr. Lambert.

Darien didn't need to be told twice. He grabbed Serena's arm a little tighter, enough to avoid Serena making a run for it. They climb to the stage which was very dark and only their figures could be seen. Mr. Lambert turned the lights on and the stage came alive with it.

Darien approach Serena and whispered: _"Are you ok?"_

"_I'm going to be sick"_ Serena whispered back. Darien backed away and smiled to himself and thought: this was going to be fun (that little son of a…).

"_You think I don't remember you?"_ said Darien to the class; Serena was completely shocked by the comment. Did he really remember her? But why was he talking to the class?

Oh my God! She couldn't move, she was frozen there, in front of everyone, she couldn't talk.

"_Of course I remember you, do you really thought that I could forget you, __you mean so much to me, I could almost say that I have secretly loved you for so long. The truth is that I do love you. We were so young back then, but I still remember you. You were my very first friend, my best friend. Our friendship, our innocent love meant the world to me. But I made it all change, didn't I? I often dream with the idea that maybe someday you would accept me back. I know that I did something terrible. I know that what I did is unforgiveable, but I know you still love me. "_ said Darien still facing the class, then he faced Serena. He took a couple of steps in her direction and stopped again. Serena began to lose her ability to breathe, she started to hyperventilate. She was as white as snow. _"Is it so hard to believe?"_ asked Darien. He faced again the audience and said: _"Tell me please, what you think. What do you think she would think if I say that?"_

That left Serena totally confused. The audience stayed in complete silence.

"_I still don't know why you are doing this?"_ said Serena in a low voice and a hint of water in her cerulean eyes.

"_You don't? I thought you knew… I suppose that you could say that pay back is a bitch"_ said Darien. (Oh no, he didn't)

All anger, frustration, and every other feeling in the entire world was about to explode from Serena. She lowered her head and started to tremble from all her rage. The moment she opened her mouth to answer back to Darien she was interrupted.

"_Pack back is a bitch?"_ said a voice coming from the audience. Immediately Darien turned to the origin of the voice, just as everybody else in the theater. The voice belonged to the most beautiful girl in school, Darien's girlfriend Annaleigh Roberts.

"_I didn't know you were here. You heard that?"_ asked Darien very calmly.

"_Yes, I heard everything."_ said Annaleigh reaching the steps of the stage.

"_I was just practicing."_ said Darien

"_Practicing? You wanted to practice saying __something? To whom?" _asked Annaleigh

"_To you"_ said Darien looking at Serena for just a second. She still had her head lowered so he couldn't see the single tear that graced her face. Serena still wasn't able to move from her place. _"I wanted to apologize"_ finished Darien

"_About what?"_ said Annaleigh approaching Darien and grabbing both his hands

"_About some rumors you are about to hear the second you leave this place"_ said Darien with genuine apologetic eyes. Those eyes informed Annaleigh which parts of the sketch were true and which weren't. She was used to Darien doing these kinds of stunts; it was his own personal way to give her an important message. Serena and Mina also read between the lines of Darien's message, they were the only ones who could possibly understand a little bit of what was really happening in the scene.

"_I won't stop loving you" _said Annaleigh and with that she started to take small steps in Serena's direction.

In that precise moment Mina started clapping so Serena's torture would stop. She didn't knew the story behind all of this but she wasn't about to find out this way either. With Mina the rest of the class clapped as well, including Mr. and Mrs. Lambert.

Annaleigh stopped right in front of Serena and said in a very low voice: _"it's ok, breathe, it's over now. I'm sorry; I should have seen this coming. I'll make Darien apologize."_

"_Don't, no harm done" _said Serena in an equal low voice, she faced Annaleigh and gave her a small smile.

Then Annaleigh helped Serena, who still didn't feel her legs, down from the stage while the clapping tuned down. Darien stepped down the stage as well and he started to walk to the door's direction when Mrs. Lambert said: _"Mr. Shields, where do you think you are going?"_

"_To soccer practice Mrs. Lambert. Again I'm sorry that I've interrupted your class, now if I may be excuse"_ said Darien

"_No, you may not be excuse just yet"_ said Mr. Lambert so Darien turned to face him.

"_Mr. Shields do you think we were born yesterday?"_ said Mr. Lambert

"_No…, of course not Mr. Lambert"_ said Darien hoping to not get detention for his little stunt.

"_You were hoping for the lead"_ said Mrs. Lambert _"Oh, Darien, for years we were trying for you to open up like this. I'm so proud of you."_

"_Class, we have our leads: Mr. Shields and Miss Roberts"_ said Mr. Lambert

"_Miss Tsukino, thank you for the fair try; maybe next year dear"_ said Mrs. Lambert to Serena and with that Serena sat on the theater bench next to Mina's.

"_Mr. Shields, thank you for that talent demonstration. The rehearsals will start in a week while Camilla and I finished casting the rest of the parts__. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm"_ said Mr. Lambert. _"We hope attendance"_

"_And punctuality won't be a problem for you"_ finished Mrs. Lambert.

"_I'll try my best"_ said Darien

"_Do you really have to try Mr. Shields?"_ asked Mr. Lambert

"_Please do"_ said Mrs. Lambert. _"You are excused now"_

"_Thank you"_ said Darien as he opened the door and searched for a last glance of someone, not his girlfriend, he was looking for a last glace of Serena. He found her; she was sitting of a theater bench still very white, still trying to remember how to breathe. Then he let out a sigh, stepped out of the theater and closed the door. _"What the hell did I just do?"_ Darien asked himself out loud.

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I still like the idea of reviews so keep them coming...


	3. Chapter 3

I just want to thank everyone who is reading this story and all the people who have shared with me thier thoughts, it means the world to me so thank you very much.

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Chapter 3 Rumor has it

Annaleigh Roberts always had been an A straight student. For at least two years in a row she was selected captain of the debate team, the school's representative at the 'Future Leaders at Work' meetings, she often organized rallies to gather food for the homeless, finding proper homes to homeless pets, offered extra help at the food banks; you name it, she was a saint. And I mean a real saint; she didn't do all that work to impress colleges, she felt that she was entitled to since life had been so good with her. She couldn't complaint, she was really grateful for her life. Her father was a very wealthy retired businessman who had worked for an important Movie Production Company and her mother was a famous soup opera actress. Annaleigh lived with her parents and younger sister in the most prestigious neighborhood in the whole city. Her house was extremely stunning; I guess that happens when someone hires a famous interior designer to decorate it, but the house was really something else. So for all of that she was really grateful.

But she wasn't all work and no play. Since she turned 5 years old she set herself a goal, she was going to be awarded someday with a Tony; that was her dream. That is why she was so devoted to her Drama class; she loved theater and everything about it, specially a great musical. She was always selected as the female lead in the schools plays, she was born for it. For her excellent academic remarks and great reviews of several theater critics she had already been accepted into Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Oxford and Julliard. She was a star. But for many guys she was also a dream come true; beautiful 5'9'', 18 years old, light brunette, gorgeous hazel eyes with a hint of green in them, brains and the body of a Victoria Secret's model. For all the girls at school she was the It girl, the class envy, a celebrity, not only for her looks or her brain, but for the three years she had been Darien Shields's girl.

Annaleigh met Darien about four years ago. She greeted him to his new high school and showed him around the campus. They shared a joke or two and became very good friends. Soon enough Darien found the courage to ask her out and so they did. They became the high school sweethearts: the soccer star, student body president with a promising future in a science or medical career and the actress with the heart of gold. They were the perfect couple, everybody thought so. That is why it was so weird seen Darien been yelled by a second year at the school corridor like that. I mean, she couldn't possibly have anything against Darien, could she? That is also why people didn't take any time at all to start talking about it.

"_I heard that they were going out this summer while Annaleigh was in Florida visiting her grandparents"_ said a girl with black hair with bright green high lights on it and she had very green eyes to match her hair; she belonged in the junior class and was talking to her friends in front of her locker.

"_That can't be right Emerald"_ said one of her friends.

"_Why not Becky? It makes perfect sense"_ said Emerald

"_Annaleigh's grandparents live in Arizona"_ said Becky

"_That's a mere technicality, they still could have hooked-up"_ said Emerald

"_I can't believe Darien would have cheated on Annaleigh like that and with a nobody for that matter"_ said another girl in the group

"_Well at least she is pretty though"_ finished Becky and they continued their way to the school's gardens.

All the gossip Annaleigh was hearing didn't really matter, since the bell rang she had a mission: finding Darien. She practically ran after the drama class had finished and started looking for him everywhere: the soccer field, the gardens, the library, the school's corridors, his locker, she even had some random guys search for him in the boy's restrooms. She was about to go crazy when she thought: _'The roof, of course, he always goes there to think'_

She started to run to the stairs that headed to the school's roof. She jumped three stairs at a time and she finally opened the door to the roof and there he was. He was sitting in a bench that looked to the school's gardens. She started to take small steps in his direction when he said: _"I said I'm sorry about the rumors"_

"_You think I care about the rumors? Darien come on, what the hell was that? What could have had possessed you to do that to her?"_ yelled Annaleigh

"_She had it coming!"_ yelled Darien back now facing Annaleigh

"_Oh, don't give me that crap"_ whispered Annaleigh _"Darien, how could you have done that, she almost passed out" _

"_I said I'm sorry"_ screamed Darien

"_You said you were sorry about the rumors, now apologize to her!"_ said Annaleigh to Darien in a very low tone of voice

"_I won't"_ said Darien

"_Oh, why not king of the school? Are you afraid of her? Frankly I'm on her side. Darien, what you did back there was awful. You actually have no idea of what you just did to her! Apologize!!!!!"_ screamed Annaleigh

"_I knew it, you know her"_ said Darien

"_Of course I know her you idiot, she is in my Drama class"_ yelled Annaleigh

"_I mean we know her from before the accident. I'm right, aren't I?"_ said Darien

"_How could you have known her from before the accident Darien? Or I for that matter? I met you four years ago, the accident happened five years ago. She started a year ago in this high school… I'm just saying that what you did was awful and that you better apologize to her"_ said Annaleigh

"_Or else?"_ asked Darien

"_Yes, or else."_ and with that Annaleigh started to walk to the door, she stopped and said: _"I don't know if you know her from before the accident Darien, but if that is true, imagine just how could she feel right now. Please apologize"_ and then she left.

When Annaleigh started to walk down stairs the rumors were out of control. Everyone would glance at her and say something to the nearest person. She heard the most random things. Things like the obvious: that she and Darien were broken up, that Serena had separated them; that Darien had cheated on Annaleigh but didn't want to break-up with her so he had rejected Serena. People were eating them alive. Annaleigh knew that she and Darien could take the rumors; that the rumors weren't true but she was worried about Serena. Poor thing, high school isn't kind to begin with and now this?! She then decided to look for her. This time her target was easier to find, she was in the gardens being shadowed by the school's grounds largest tree. She was drawing something while her friends talked to her.

"_So none of that was true?"_ asked Rei

"_No for the eleventh time"_ said Serena not getting her eyes off her drawing and then took a small sip out of her caned soda.

"_I can't believe it, how come we missed all of that"_ said Lita with her teasing voice

"_Lita, please I beg you, let's pretend nothing happened"_ said Serena almost about to cry

"_Well, now that we think about it, the rumors can't be true. Darien would never fall for someone like Serena. She is lazy, over eats, always late and never gets a good grade"_ said Rei

"_That's it! Rei I'm going to kill you!"_ said Serena standing up and began to tickle Rei, but soon Rei began to attack back and Serena lost miserably.

"_Girls stop it, it's not the time or place!"_ said Amy but as soon as she finished everybody attacked her.

"_I don't know about that Rei, I personally think Serena could be fair competition"_ said Annaleigh as she approached the group. With that everybody stopped the tickling and stop the laughing, remaining totally quiet.

"_But you don't believe the rumors, do you?"_ asked Mina _"I saw everything with both my eyes, Serena doesn't know him. I don't know why he went to Drama" _said Mina while Serena stayed completely mute.

"_No, Mina you are wrong, she does know him"_ said Annaleigh

"_Leigh you promised!"_ said Serena and everybody was shocked. Serena knew Darien? And Annaleigh too? She knew their nicknames?

"_I thought only your friends called you Leigh?"_ said Darien (Oh God! The drama!)

"_So Leigh, you do know Serena. You lied to me?"_ asked Darien (crap!). While the silence reigned Darien took Serena's notebook the one she was drawing in. This totally angered her.

"_That's mine!"_ said Serena calmly

"_I know… this isn't bad at all. Why didn't you took art instead of drama, at least you draw better than you act"_ said Darien passing pages of Serena's notebook

Serena then stood up and took her can and proceeded to empty its entire content over Darien's pants. She took her notebook from Darien's hands and said: _"I guess you can say pay back is a bitch"_ Everybody started laughing with this, including Annaleigh. (If only Mr. and Mrs. Lambert would have been there to see maybe Serena would have made Annaleigh run for her money) Serena started to go to her locker's direction and all of her friends followed her.

"_So sorry"_ said Mina laughing to Darien

"_Really sorry"_ said Amy how was covering herself with a book so Darien couldn't see her laughing

"_I am not sorry, I would have done something worse"_ said Lita to Darien and she took Rei's hand who just winked and waved at him

Annaleigh then waited for them to be a bit further to grill Darien again. _"What did you heard me say when I asked you to apologize"_ said Annaleigh

"_You lied to me and won't tell me the truth about where I know her"_ said Darien

"_Fair enough"_ said Annaleigh and she left him with a big smile. _"Oh Darien I almost forgot to tell you: You are breaking the school's dress code, you have to change in order to get into class"_ she blew him a kissed and waved him good bye (he is student body president after all… don't you love politics?)

After that rumors were flying like crazy throughout the whole school. Darien walked to the boy's locker room to change. As he did he heard some guys of his senior class talking.

"_Well, she is hot"_ said a tall guy searching for his towel

"_I know, I didn't even notice her before Shields fell over her, she is one hot piece of meat"_ said a guy with very blonde hair, almost silver to the day's light.

"_Would you go out with her Diamond?"_ asked another guy with red hair to the blond

"_Mmm, not only that"_ said Diamond

Darien listened carefully to the conversation while trying to calm his wishes to torn off Diamond's head; which was kind of weird since he didn't really know Serena but he did felt the need to protect her even if she just completely humiliate him again in front of the whole school.

"_I heard Shields cheated on Annaleigh while she was in Europe last Christmas"_ said the redhead

"_God, I would do them both"_ said Diamond

"_Diamond cut it out"_ said a guy next to him with black hair, so black that it almost seemed blue

"_Why Sapphire?"_ asked Diamond to the guy with the black hair, his younger brother

"_Because of me"_ said Darien not taking any time for introductions. Darien grabbed Diamond by his shoulders and pushed him into the nearest wall. _"You listened to me Diamond, stay away from her" _

"_I won't do anything to Annaleigh" _said Diamond and when he saw the fury in Darien's eyes he laughed.

Darien pushed him again to the wall and with a roar said to Diamond: _"Don't you dare touch them, both of them."_

"_Don't worry Shields, I won't touch neither one of your leftovers"_ said Diamond with a grin

Darien didn't think twice again, he punched him right in the nose leaving him practically unconscious.

"_I want everybody to hear me very carefully, next time someone as much as think of talking to either one of them they would have it worse than him"_ said Darien as he signaled Diamond on the floor. Darien then grabbed from his locker his extra pair of pants put them on and left the boy's locker room while it was completely silent.

"_Darien what was that I heard in the cafeteria, you cheated on Annaleigh with Serena? I thought you didn't know her"_ said Andrew as soon as he saw Darien walked through the school's main hall.

"_Not now Andrew"_ said Darien fuming over what happened in the locker room.

He hated everything that precise moment, and what was worse is the fact that he couldn't stop thinking of Serena and her beautiful blue eyes. He did know her; those eyes were exactly the same as the ones in his dreams.

"_Darien is it true that you and Annaleigh broke-up?"_ said a brunette girl from the senior class who aprroach him.

Darien just sighed; this was going to be a very long day… But at least you all know now why no one would dare to ask Serena out.

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Did you liked it?


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks to all the readers, the fact that people read my very own story makes feel too good... I'm really grateful for all the reviews I've gotten, seriously thank you so much.

Now, to be perfectly clear, Darien will get what he rightfully deserves... a black eye, but be patient, it will be given in the most unbelievable circumstance.

In the mean time, enjoy my newer chapter...

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Chapter 4 Maid in the middle of chaos

About a week later not only did the gossip tuned down a little but the parts for the play were also assigned. The girls were walking from school to The Crown to try to cheer up Serena a bit with a triple chocolate milkshake; she definitely was in desperate need of one right now.

"_So… maid. That's kind of cool"_ said Lita not really knowing what to say to Serena

"_I'm sure Mr. and Mrs. Lambert thought that you needed some extra time to study for the midterms, Serena"_ said Amy to what she just responded to with an undecipherable murmur.

"_Don't beat yourself too much about it Serena, I heard that Mina rocked her audition and she just got to be Annaleigh's understudy as well as secondary role in the play"_ said again Lita and Serena responded again with another unrecognizable mutter.

"_Serena what's gotten into you?"_ said Lita, then another mumble came from her

"_Serena snap out of it!"_ screamed Rei. Serena looked very confused, troubled and uncertain of where exactly she was in that precise moment.

"_I'm sorry"_ said Serena and she sighed _"Where are we going again?"_ she asked

"_To The Crown"_ said Mina softly to her _"Would you prefer for us to accompany you to your house?" _

"_Why?"_ Serena asked very confused

"_Sweetie, you don't look good"_ said Mina with a concern face

"_Can I asked you something?"_ asked Serena

"_Go ahead"_ said Mina

"_Would you guys date me?"_ asked Serena so innocently that she looked like a little puppy; however, her look did not change for a minute the expression of bewilderment in the girls faces. Would they date Serena? What kind of question was that?

"_Do you care to elaborate on that question?"_ asked Mina whom with every second would become more and more confused

"_Do you know Matt from our biology class?"_ asked Serena

"_Yes, he is very cute, what about him?"_ asked Mina

"_Well, up until now he was my biology lab partner. He asked today to Mrs. Lara to reassigned him to someone else"_ said Serena

"_Well, maybe he just wanted someone who actually does well in the class to be his partner"_ said Rei

"_Rei, seriously, you are pushing it" _said Serena

"_But it doesn't make sense, why now? Then at the cafeteria John and Mike gave up their spots in the line so they wouldn't even be near me. No one is talking to me. Correction, no boy would talk to me, I don't get it"_ said Serena feeling very frustrated

"_Do you think it's still about the rumors of you and Darien?"_ asked Amy

"_I don't see why; he and Annaleigh spend an awful lot of time making out in front of their lockers. I don't see why someone will continue believing in the rumors after seeing them lock lips. It doesn't make sense! And what is worse is what happened just after the bell rang"_ said Serena with water in her eyes

"_What happened?"_asked Mina

"_Well, next week is the Valentine's Day dance and is ladies choice, right?"_ said Serena

"_Yes, we all agree to ask our dates last week. You said that you had already asked someone" _said Lita

"_We thought you already had a date"_ said Rei

"_Well, I couldn't just ask someone out with all the rumors flying out about me and Darien and Annaleigh, so I waited for them to be over, and I asked someone out today. First time ever that I do and I had my hopes really high about it"_ said Serena whipping out a couple of tears as she spoke.

"_Serena, what exactly happened?_ _Maybe you will feel better after telling us"_ said Lita

"_I asked Dominic Colton out"_ said Serena, and everybody was surprised and their mouths fell open

"_Dominic Colton as in Dominic Colton the cutest guy in our class!!!!!"_ asked Mina in shock

"_Yes I asked him, he has always been nice to me, and I believe that we flirted sometimes, up until today of course"_ said Serena with her disappointed voice again

"_Why? What happened?"_ asked Rei

"_I went to his locker to ask him out, 'cause Molly told me that no one had asked him yet, so I went and he was putting his books away, I asked and he saw me, he saw something else and then he laughed and said no"_ finished Serena, sadder by the second

"_So he just said no?"_ asked Mina surprised and shocked by the words that came out of Serena's mouth. She knew Serena the least, but she did care a lot for her and, because she was "the goddess of love in Earth", she also notice a thing or two about how normally guys reacted to Serena and this wasn't normal behavior, specially coming from Dominic Colton who she knew, from a very good source, had a crush on Serena since a couple of months ago.

"_No, I believe his exact words were: Keep on dreaming, then he just laughed and left"_ said Serena really anguished

"_Well next time you see him; tell him to bugger off, that idiot, who does he think he is? Don't worry we are going to get revenge"_ said Mina

"_What for?"_ asked Serena

"_Well, to show him that you are not weak" _said Mina

"_It really doesn't matter, I'm not going anyway to the dance"_ said Serena with a very gloomy look in her face

"_Oh come on Serena, you need to light up, no wonder no one has asked you out yet in general. You need to look more approachable, less blue. You have looked all week long as if a family member just died"_ said Mina

"_I don't think the horrible face she has carried around this week is what is repealing all men or living creature around her"_ said Rei in her snooty little way

"_Rei"_ yelled everyone to shut her up, Serena really didn't need this right now

"_I'm sorry but I'm right, I think something fishy is up. I mean Serena isn't that pretty, I know but she could have found a date who said yes by now. Unless you are still hanged-up by Darien Shields"_ said Rei

"_It is unbelievable how many different ways you find everyday to insult me"_ said Serena very annoyed by Rei's comment.

"_Listen, I'm sorry Serena, I know you are upset but you have to let this go. Now, we have to prepare for exams and at least you have the smallest part in the play so you can concentrate more in trying to pass the semester"_ finished Rei with a hint of a smile in her lips

"_Was that just you trying to cheer me up? Cause you really sucked at it"_ said Serena _"Listen girls, I'm fine, I'm just… I want to be alone right now"_

"_No! And I can't believe I'm saying this but what you need right now is to be with friends that love you and will share with you an order of extra large fries and a big milkshake" _said Amy hugging Serena warmly

"_Thank you Amy"_ said Serena returning the hug

Then they all continued to walk to The Crown very quietly, not wanting to say something to upset Serena even more.

They finally reached the doors of The Crown. This place was so cool. It wasn't just a regular dinner or a regular video game parlor. It was a very large place that was divided into different sections. First section placed in the first floor of the building was the dinner. The dinner was a themed dinner from the fifties. Every waiter would wear roller skates and the girls would wear beautiful poodle skirts to go with it. The guys usually would wear their hair Grease Lightning style and every now and then some customer would put on the jukebox the "Grease Medley Song" and every waiter would ask a costumer to dance along with the song. The food was even better, burgers and sundaes were their specialty and thanks to Serena they owned the recipe for the most delicious burger in town. You see, Serena special ordered it and Andrew found out that the mix of ingredients were a total hit. Bacon, white and cheddar cheese, mushrooms, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, pickles, jalapeños and the pattie was even better, it was a combo of chicken, sirloin, turkey and crab ground meet. It was a master piece.

The Crown also had a floor dedicated for video games and several computers used by local students to write school reports, chat, email and surf the Internet for more online games. It also had a couple of pool tables and many other fun games. This particular floor had a very modern and psychedelic feeling to it. Every single color exploded from the walls creating flowers and animals with them. Serena and Mina spent a lot of hours in this floor playing the Sailor Moon video game, they were obsessed with it. The last floor was almost a blank slate; Andrew called it the white room. In it parties were often held. So you can see, The Crown attracted all kinds of crowds including our group of girls making it their favorite place to hang.

So, they sat in their favorite table and Lita approach the bar table looking for Andrew or his younger sister Lizzie. She found him refilling the ketchup bottles.

"_Hi Andrew"_ greeted Lita

"_Hi Lita! How are you?"_ said Andrew with a smile in his face to the tall brunette

"_I'm very good actually, is Serena who needs some serious cheering up right now"_ said Lita

"_So you will need a cheer-up special I presume?"_ asked Andrew

"_Make it a double"_ said Lita

"_That bad?"_ asked Andrew

"_Yes, she is not herself right now" _said Lita _"Would you bring it to the table?" _

"_Yes, of course. Say Lita… did you already asked someone to the ball?"_ asked Andrew with hopeful eyes

Lita shocked by Andrew's question opened her mouth completely astonished. _"I… I…mmm… I I I mm, do ah, mmm, have I? What?!"_ Lita stutter

"_I guess you've already asked someone"_ said Andrew with a hint of disappointment in his voice

"_I… didn't…I did you, I, why? I mean what, I"_ said Lita very fast

With a smirk Andrew said: _"I kind of hoped you would ask me out to the dance"_ and he laughed _"But you are way to pretty for me, right?"_

Lita laughed anxiously and didn't know how to answer to Andrew _"No, of course I'm not, I mean… I… I didn't know… you were available for dates. I thought that you had a girlfriend or something"_

"_You have known me for…what? Almost a year and a half? When have you ever saw me with anyone?"_ asked Andrew

"_Then… why didn't you just…_" said Lita but she was interrupted again by Andrew

"_Lita I'll talk to you later, I have to go serve Darien's table. He just arrived"_

"_Darien is here?!"_ said Lita loudly

"_Yeah, just came through the door"_ said Andrew signaling Darien and Annaleigh

"_Damn it"_ said Lita and rushed to the girl's table

"_Serena why don't we just go to the ice cream parlor in Second Street? What do you think? A super banana spilt?"_ asked Lita a with her eyes made signs to the rest of the girls to notice Darien

"_Yeah Serena, a banana split sounds really good!"_ said Rei

"_Why? We just got here"_ asked Mina to Lita not getting the signs

"_Mina ice cream is better for Serena right now" _said Rei

"_But Amy was right, I need you guys, and a milkshake, we can share the banana split tomorrow"_ said Serena with puppy eyes to Lita and Rei. They felt a bit defeated and stayed at The Crown.

Soon Andrew came to their table with the extra large order of fries and the triple chocolate milkshake for Serena. Serena began eating with her friends and all of them started talking and tried to avoid the Darien or Dominic subject. Serena didn't even notice Darien and Annaleigh in the next table; Serena was in heaven with her fries and shake. But of course Darien did notice her, and so he came to the girl's table.

"_I'm sorry I've been such a jerk to you" _said Darien _"You reminded me of someone I thought I knew… I hope to see you tomorrow in rehearsal"_

"_So you can make fun of me in front of everyone, yeah, can't wait for it"_ said Serena bitterly

Darien laughed angrily and said: _"You are unbelievable"_

"_Serena, the banana split really sounds good right now"_ said Mina now getting why the girls wanted to leave.

"_I'm unbelievable?! What about you? I apologize for knocking you down but you had to pull that crap in Drama class. You have… you are just…"_ she stood up from her table and started to walk to the dinner's bar when Darien said: "Just a jerk, right?

"_Yes, just a jerk"_ said Serena now facing Darien

Darien just laughed, went to his table and took Annaleigh's hand and helped her up. He then put an arm around her shoulders and left The Crown.

Serena was fuming. And to realized, all of her lines were with Darien, and she was a maid, Darien's maid for that purpose. She hated this; she just wanted to get off that roller coaster that was her life right now. And to think, she was missing the Valentine's Ball, no guy was talking to her, she was in the middle of a spat battle with the most popular guy in school and she needed serious help with algebra. Someone please help her! Worst part is that rehearsal started the next day and still didn't even know what her lines were.

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Reviews? Comments? Questions? Doubts? Gossip? Rumors?

Everything is more than welcomed

(Thanks again guys) ^-^


	5. Chapter 5

I wasn't plannig in lasting as much with this chapter but my best friend who is better at English than me was in finals this week and couldn't help me put the comas in the right places until yesterday, so please forgive (this chapter is for her, I really hope she did well in her finals)

That and the fact that I'm running out of ideas so this may not be the last time I'll last a bit longer in updating duty.

Again, thank you so much for every single reader of Haven't you had enough. I love this title, I love this story, I love the characters and I love reviews...

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Chapter 5 Rehearse Much

Friday came in an instant. The day Serena was dreading all week long. Rehearsal started at 3pm, it was still early so she decided to go to the cafeteria to get a hot coco. The day had been particularly cold, so she not only needed her mood lift up, but she needed to warm up as well. She was trying to memorize her lines. "Your Majesty it is an honor to serve you, sir" she stopped read the line and thought 'That can't be right'. She then finished her coco and headed to Drama.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid play. Mr. and Mrs. Lambert supposedly "master piece". Of course they had to pick Darien as Prince Endymion and Annaleigh as his fiancée, Duchess Victorya. And of course they didn't bother making names for the smaller roles so Serena didn't have a name. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid play. Stupid Drama class and stupid policy of no dropping off an elective class after mid semester.

She then got a glimpsed out of her friend Mina who was searching for someone. She better hurried 'cause if she was late Mr. and Mrs. Lambert would definitely think of something worse than a couch.

As I told you before, Mina is a transfer student from England. Her father traveled a lot because of his job, he was a free lance writer, but as soon as "City Magazine" asked him to step-in as its new editor in chief he accepted so he could settle in with his family in just one location instead of traveling all trough Europe and America and never get the chance to catch a glimpse of them.

Mina arrived at her new school last September. She naturally made friends with Serena and the others in a second. So when the enrollment for the second semester was up, Mina begged Serena to take Drama with her under the pretense that it will be fun. Little that she knew that her decision to enter Drama would be a nightmare for her dear friend Serena.

"_Dominic Christopher Colton come with your large fat bullocks this instant!!!!"_ yelled Mina as she opened the door for the boys locker room.

She was so angry; she had to listen for 4 months in every Biology class how much he liked Serena!

Mina and Dominic were lab partners; they clicked and soon became friends. They talked pretty much about everything during class and from time to time they had to hear from Mrs. Lara her classical 'Stop the cheat-chat you guys'.

Mina and Dominic were friends, but Mina and Serena were very good friends; and the friendship between girls is sacred.

"_What the hell is your problem Mina?"_ said Dominic as he got out from the dressing room _"I've got practice"_

"_Well I've got no patience right now. Did you or did you not rejected Serena yesterday?"_ asked Mina with a cold face to Dominic

"_How the hell did you know that?"_ said Dominic

"_You pathetic loser, I can't believe I fell for all the crap you told me in Biology. You told me you liked her!!"_ said Mina even angrier

"_I said that I've never seen a girl as beautiful as her"_ said Dominic to Mina in a low voice

"_Then why did you daft selfish rodent rejected her?"_ said Mina about to punch him

"_Geez, you brits know how to insult! Damn it Mina, calm down!"_ said Dominic trying to make Mina lower her voice

"_No, I will not calm down until I hear a perfectly good explanation"_ said Mina

"_Fine. Last week at the locker room Shields and Blackmoon had kind of a fight. Shields trough a punch at Blackmoon and told everyone that if we as much as talked to either Serena or Annaleigh Roberts that we would have it worse than Blackmoon"_ said Dominic trying to explain

"_You are a coward"_ said Mina to him almost in a hiss

"_I'm a coward? Real nice Mina, what was I supposed to do? I did not want to end up in the Nursery, Shields was right behind us yesterday when Serena came to my locker!"_ said Dominic very frustrated

"_You are a bloody coward Dominic, you don't deserve her" _said Mina and she left Dominic at the door of the boy's locker room.

She then ran as fast as she could before the clock announced it was 3pm. She had exactly a minute and a half.

She was so angry… so frustrated. She wanted to help Serena; she almost hoped that either Darien or Dominic would come clean to Serena and helped her cheer-up, 'cause she was very down. Serena was starting to have self-steam issues, and Mina didn't want that for her friend. She knew that Dominic had feelings for Serena and Darien's behavior was only of a man who had suppressed feelings, most likely towards Serena.

She arrived to class and unfortunately the bell had already rung. She tried to enter as quiet as possible so she ducked but Mrs. Lambert in that same instant opened the door. She smiled when she saw Mina ducked and positioned to enter the classroom.

"_Good we found our cat"_ said Mrs. Lambert

"_A cat?!"_ asked Mina worried of the many consequences that her late arrival could mean

"_Yes Ms. Aino, you see we were looking for someone to play cat today, seems like it's your turn now to not only humor us, but to understand the importance of punctuality"_ said Mrs. Lambert

And when Mr. Lambert saw from the stage his sister and Mina talking realized what was happening and sighed as he could predict the amusement this rehearsal would bring.

"_Ms. Aino front and center"_ yelled Mr. Lambert from the stage. _"People, we found our cat"_

"_Now we realized that this will be a new compliment to the play, but everyone will improvised today a line directed to our new cat"_ said Mrs. Lambert

"_Just for today"_ said Mr. Lambert

"_The cat will be present in all the scenes rehearsed today"_ said Mrs. Lambert

"_So Ms. Aino, you better paid extra attention for your cat role, and the lines rehearsed by Ms. Roberts"_ said Mr. Lambert

"_Now class, lets gather around… everyone in stage please"_ commanded Mrs. Lambert as she walked with Mina by her side to the center of the stage. Mina could already see her friend Serena there who was still desperately trying to memorize her few lines and Darien Shields talking to Annaleigh but looking directly to Serena.

"_Today would be easy enough, we will be rehearsing Act 1 and 2 so Mr. Shields if you could come so we can begin"_ said Mr. Lambert searching for Darien

"_Now, Mr. Shields open the line as if you own the world. You are after all Prince of The Earth so whatever you please is your command. Loud, clear, and energetic! You may begin"_ commanded Mr. Lambert

Darien walked to the center of the stage while everyone else scattered around to their positions. Most of the people already knew where to go because Mr. and Mrs. Lambert had already reviewed some details during the morning class. Darien wasn't frightened, he actually was very confident of his performance; after all he did had a natural ability to act; nevertheless he preferred science. Acting was just for giggles.

Giggles… that was ironic, he thought that doing that little stunt last week would be funny, it turned out to be completely the opposite. He could not stop thinking about Serena, her eyes, her hair. Where the hell did he knew her from. Not only guilt was eating him alive but the unanswered question, who is Serena and where did he knew her from. From her reaction it was only too obvious that she knew him. Maybe from before the accident… But he could only speculate now.

He closed his eyes once more. He saw in his mind Serena's eyes, Serena's hair, Serena's hands, Serena's lips. His eyes remained closes as he thought 'Deep breaths'

"_My father has died, they announced me! A king is needed. God save the King! My father has died and the people wish for me to marry. A king can't be king without spouse. God save the future Queen! As I reside here in war these thoughts troubled me. War has been my companion, war is what I know; war hasn't been my enemy but my personal savior from all the frivolities that means to have royal blood. War gives me freedom, war is my passion. I wish not to marry. God save my father but I do not wish to be King. I can after all resign my duty, but I won't"_ he continued to pace trough the stage as he continued his monologue. _"Is God my savior?... Only my father would know now. To The Golden Palace then… home, home of politics, home of law, home of the people that wish for my marriage, home of hypocrisy, home of the hopeless, of the faithless."_ This was a particular torture for Serena. Seeing that man, that young man up there, so handsome, so beautiful, and so full of passion, one she thought he had lost in the accident. She saw him move around the stage and she could she every single word coming from his perfect lips, the expressions that his face did and the color of his eyes that resemble the midnight sky. She saw him and her heart pounded so hard. This hurt her so much. Seeing him. It hurt her so much. _"Can I, a young prince, change the true destiny of my home land? What am I saying! I cannot even change my own path" _Serena then stood up from her bench and decided to rehearse backstage, at least she could try to memorize better without Darien in sight.

"_Your Majesty is time for our departure"_ said a tall blond boy who played a general

"_Thank you Kunzite"_ said Darien

"_Your Majesty, Prince Endymion, is everything alright?"_ asked the blond boy

"_It is… And if you ever again keep the formality I will have your head"_ said Darien with a smile to the blond

"_Fine, Endymion. We better hurry then, or should I leave you to your silly thoughts and idiotic complaints". _He paused_ "Are you taking your cat?"_ said the blond smiling back to Mina who was being pushed to the stage by Mrs. Lambert

"_Scott, next time say it a bit more sarcastic. Perfect Mina; now act like a cat, meow or something. Go on."_ said Mr. Lambert

Darien laughed loudly and both, him and Scott, proceeded with the scene. Mr. Lambert interrupted frequently to correct posture or diction, but overall everything was going pretty well. Mrs. Lambert was occupied backstage couching everyone and queuing them as to when to go on scene.

They finished after a while scene 1, next was Serena's.

Everyone took a bit of a break before they started with scene two. Mina stood up ('cause she was in all her fours busy playing cat), and hurry up to Serena's side.

"_How is it going?"_ said Mina with a concern face and voice

"_Awful, can't remember a thing"_ said Serena reading the script.

"_Serena"_ called Mina to catch Serena's attention

"_What's up?"_ she said with a smile, but when she saw Mina's expression hers changed as well.

"_We need to talk, I need to tell you something"_ said Mina _"Remember how Rei thought that something fishy was up?"_

"_Yes"_ and with that she noticed that Darien entered backstage and sat in a chair next to Annaleigh and some of his senior friends but kept looking at her

"_Dominic told me"_ said Mina

"_What? Why? I'm going to kill you!!"_ yelled Serena

"_Shut up, everyone is hearing"_ said Mina trying to silence her friend

"_You better start talking now"_ said Serena, Mina sighed and look at her with sad eyes

"_Darien got into a fight with Diamond Blackmoon. He menaced every single creature to not talk to you or Annaleigh. Guess he can be quiet scary sometimes, if provoked. Serena where the hell do you think you are going?!"_ said Mina trying to stop her friend from going to Darien's direction. Serena got there first.

"_HOW DARE YOU?"_ screamed Serena to Darien and he stood up from his place and simply starred at Serena frowning at her. Serena was so angry… she didn't think, she just slapped…

"_Darien what did you do? Serena wait!" _said Annaleigh also standing up from her chair

Darien looked at Serena with such sadden eyes; he then moved a hand to touch his now tender cheek. It hurt a lot (the girl can slap!). Darien said nothing just stared at her as she run to the ladies restroom followed by Mina.

"_You should really control your temper"_ said Mina closing the door

"_Mina, go away"_ said Serena with a cracked voice whipping her tears with toilet paper

"_Serena…"_

"_GO AWAY"_ she yelled; that froze Mina, her sweet and innocent friend never had lost her temper before Darien appeared in the picture…

"_I'm sorry"_ said Mina and then she left the restroom and she closed the door.

Serena cried. She fell to the floor; she didn't want to stand up. She stood there for ten minutes crying out until she regained some self control. This wasn't a good place to crack up. She looked at the mirror, washed her face and dried it with a paper towel. She then took some deep breaths and said to herself: 'If you can forget me so can I'. She exited the restroom as if nothing happened.

"_Good, Serena, we were looking for you, Ms. Aino didn't knew where you where. Break is up, it's time to shine"_ said Mr. Lambert and he practically pulled her all the way to the curtain that separated the stage from the back. Everybody looked at her and immediately pretended to do something else.

"_Action"_ yelled Mr. Lambert and he move to sit at the theater front bench.

"_My chambers…; which will be different once I become King. Childhood memories reside here. Everything that made me run from this palace it's still here"_ said Darien

"_Serena this is your queue"_ said Mrs. Lambert as she pushed Serena to the stage.

Darien immediately looked her way; she had her eyes red, his fault. She was looking down, his fault. He couldn't look her way, but he must, not for the play, but for a much urgent reason: he wanted to. Then something unbelievable happened: he was nervous.

"_Your Majesty"_ said Serena and she vowed gracefully

"_Serena a bit louder, we can't hear"_ said Mr. Lambert

"_It is my great… pleasure… to give my services"_ said Serena

"_It's good, Serena, go on"_ said Mr. Lambert

"_It is my great pleasure to give my services to the future king… of our… dearest planet"_ said Serena

"_You resemble my nursemaid, was… she… were you? You resemble my nursemaid, are you her daughter?"_ said a very nervous Darien. Serena just stood there, with no power to continue.

"_No…"_ she whispered

"_Serena, louder. Darien… that wasn't the line, go on. "_ said again Mr. Lambert, but Serena just stood there. She looked up to see Darien's eyes. They were the same as she remembered them, warm, blue, impossibly deep. Was she even angry at Darien? And why the hell did he have to look at her so… so… so… intense. Suddenly she didn't know what was next…

"_I can't do this"_ said Serena as she broke character

"_Me neither"_ said Darien

"_Oh, for God sake, it's a small sequence!"_ said Mr. Lambert but he rethought when he saw the odd expressions in both actors.

"_Ok… people, let's rap up for today. Well done, everyone. Mr. Shields and Ms. Tsukino stay please"_ said Mr. Lambert (great! Another pep talk)

Mr. Lambert climbed the stage and waited for her sister to arrive and everybody else to leave the Theater.

"_Thank you Miss Aino; I promise Ms. Tsukino will find the exit without your help. See you on Monday."_ Mina left the Theater murmuring something to herself, probably cursing our drama professors.

"_Listen both of you; don't think for a second we don't know what's going on here."_ said Mr. Lambert a bit angry.

"_This is a school project. Mr. Shields, poor performance at this and we will be obliged to talk to the Headmaster. That goes for you too Ms. Tsukino. Everyone could have heard you from miles."_ Both Darien and Serena were looking at the ground, arms folded as Mr. Lambert talked.

"_Now, suck up whatever it is that's going on between the two of you. I expect better from the two of you from now on, in and out this Theater… now go!"_ said Mr. Lambert

Rehearsals didn't improve much during the next week. So Mr. and Mrs. Lambert came to the conclusion of rewriting a bit of the scenes so Serena could just appear and not talk, leaving her just one line: _"Your Majesty"_

_

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_Well, I have nothing cute to say here so I just say: Please please please review

(Uhhh! Puppies! That's cute!) Bye now!


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys!!!!

Didn't expect me so soon? Did you miss me? Are you enjoying this ride?

I'm so very happy if you are...

oinspiration has hit me in the form of two of my closest friends and a couple of reviewers, so I hope that you really enjoy this chapter because it came to me from no where... kind-of out of the blue

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Chapter 6 Out of the Blue

Friday's rehearsal finished at 5pm. Serena was actually really relieved about the fact that she only had a line now. That one she could nail! _"Your Majesty."_ _"Your Majesty." "Your Majesty."_ Serena couldn't believe that she had to played Darien's maid… she hated him; she couldn't possibly understand why he had told everyone that they couldn't talk to her. This was outrageous! This was shocking! This was… this was… this was… I don't know what this was but this couldn't be good for her. She started to pack her things when she found a note in top of her books. She opened it.

_**We will be at The Crown. **_

It was Lita's beautiful handwriting. She must have left the note there before leaving the Theater this afternoon. Mr. and Mrs. Lambert had heard from Mrs. Brown that Lita Kino was a gifted student in her Home Economics class, that she was a very talented seamstress; so they decided to ask her for help in the Costume department. So she had spent last rehearsal measuring everyone and started fitting some of them in their costumes. She actually asked for Serena's help but reconsidered when she saw her poor ability sewing buttons. Lita left early from rehearsal 'cause she needed to go to the fabric store first to find some beads she needed for Annaleigh's gown.

Serena sighted. Since last Friday she was trying to avoid her friends. She really didn't want to start explaining what was the deal between her and Darien.

She sighted again; she couldn't avoid her friends much longer and she knew that they will be in need of an explanation about what happened a week ago during the first rehearsal. Of course Mina would have already told them everything that she witnessed and it was most likely that they were worried about her. Serena owed them an explanation, she knew that much; but she couldn't possibly tell them the truth. Serena didn't want to remember it. It's not that her friends couldn't handle the truth; but the truth was that she couldn't handle it herself, not again.

Mina came by her side and looked so radiant, so happy, she had a certain glow… this was kind of suspicious…

"_Spill"_ said Serena

"_No, not going to tell you, But what I can tell you is that you WILL be happy about it"_ said Mina really happy, almost too happy.

This was a bit suspicious. Serena turned to say goodbye to some of the other kids and then she saw him. Standing in the middle of the stage with Scott Miller, the tall, blond junior who was playing General Kunzite. Scott was actually very handsome. He had short blond hair which was styled in a very good looking mess kind-of-way and bright electric blue eyes. His tanned skin made him look like he belonged in a beach surfing somewhere in Malibu and his toned muscles gave him a look of a bad guy… a very good bad guy. He often reminded Serena of a young Paul Walker.

Nevertheless, she couldn't compare him to the boy who was standing at his right. Why did he have to be so damn good looking? Oh God, who even cared about Darien Shields anyway? Who cared about his perfect pale skin? Who cared about his tall and awesomely built to perfection frame? Who cared about his perfect crooked to one side smile? Who cared about his stupid velvety voice which only served to make Serena angry? Who cared about his breathtaking midnight blue eyes? Who cared about the fact that he was the greatest jerk in the planet but still a perfect gentleman? Who cared about the fact that he was so brilliant that he was accepted in MIT when he was just 15 years old? Who cared? Well I do, and I bet Serena did also.

"_Darien are you coming?"_ said a musical voice next to Serena which made her jump. She hadn't seen Annaleigh right next to her. _"I'll see you tomorrow Serena, bye"_

"_Leigh tomorrow is Saturday, do you come to school on Saturday's?"_ said Serena sarcastically, even if the answer was yes, didn't Annaleigh knew Serena better than to assume she will never come near a mile radius from school on a weekend?

"_Tomorrow is the ball silly"_ said Annaleigh

"_Oh, I forgot it was tomorrow…"_ said Serena

"_Who did you invite to the Ball?" _asked Annaleigh very curious

"_Annaleigh, I don't think it's a good idea"_ tried to say Mina in a low voice when saw Serena changed her expression to an even gloomier one

"_I'm not going to the Ball"_ said Serena in a sad tone

"_What are you talking about? You have to come, it will be so much fun!"_ said Annaleigh

"_I don't want to!"_ said Serena harshly

"_Serena, come on!"_ Annaleigh tried to push

"_Annaleigh, she said she didn't want to go!"_ said Mina angrily, Annaleigh looked passed at Mina and tried to see Serena who was hiding behind Mina.

"_Ok, I'm sorry you will miss it"_ said Annaleigh calmly

"_Why don't you just ask your little boyfriend why is she missing it?"_ said Mina bitterly

"_I already know"_ said Annaleigh and she took a deep breath _"He is an ass, I know. Serena, you can't really blame him now, can you? You could try to imagine better than I could why he is acting this way"_

"_I don't know why he is doing this! Why is he trying to torture me like this?!_Telling everyone that they couldn't talk to me. Didn't it bother you?"_ said Serena

"_It made me jealous"_ said Annaleigh with a smile _"I was very jealous when I found out. He wasn't angry because of something someone might have said about me, he was angry about something someone said about you. I know him that well. I thought you knew him too, at least a part of him, the part of him that feels protective of you. I was very jealous"_

"_I don't understand"_ said Serena and the three of them, Serena, Annaleigh and Mina turned to see him still practicing with Scott

"_Serena, think about it, no one stopped talking to me"_ said Annaleigh

"_That's because you are amazing, no one could hate you, ever"_ said Serena

"_You are nice… and so naïve"_ said Annaleigh rolling her eyes and smiled, that same smile that could light up any room _"Anyway, I was just shocked by the fact that his stupid threat bother you. The Serena I used to know wouldn't have let him bother her. The Serena I used to know is stronger than that. She is happy and better yet, she wouldn't have let Darien Shields get to her. That's why I thought you didn't need a guy to go with you to the ball"_

Serena stood completely in silence. Was that really the image that Annaleigh had of her? A strong, independent woman? So, why was it that she couldn't own up to it? What was going on here? Why was Serena "so suddenly" needing affirmation from a guy, any guy? Why was she in such a need to be in a relationship? Was it because Darien was in one himself? Was it because she wanted to make him feel jealous? Why the hell could she make him feel jealous, when he was with the most beautiful girl in school? Why did she want to make him feel jealous? Was she secretly happy about him defending her honor? (This is all a surprise, even for me)

Suddenly Darien came to Annaleigh's side and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"_Ready?"_ asked Darien

"_Yeah, let's go"_ said Annaleigh happily and so they left; the perfect couple…

"_Don't you just hate her?"_ asked Mina still watching them

"_Sometimes"_ said Serena and she chuckled.

The walk to The Crown was very quiet, Mina was still a bit happy about her unannounced news but she didn't felt the need to talk to Serena; Mina thought that Serena was probably upset about what Annaleigh had told her. But was Serena upset? Or was she relieve of knowing how Annaleigh really felt about Darien's little inexcusable threat. Annaleigh felt jealous… which meant that Darien was probably thinking or talking about her…

"_Why do I even care what he thinks or says?!"_ said Serena out loud

"_Are you ok? Are we talking to ourselves again?"_ said Mina teasingly

Serena laughed, it felt good to laugh, and she hadn't in so long. They arrived at The Crown and notice that her friends weren't in the dinner so they order some burgers and raspberry sodas in the counter and ask for them to be delivered in the second floor. They found their friends hanging out next to the Wii area watching some kids play Guitar Hero.

"_Hi girls"_ said Mina waving at them

"_Hey, good you are finally here, come Melvin is grilling Ted"_ said Lita

"_Really?"_ said Serena so she sank herself through the crowd to try and see if Lita was right; and she was.

"_Go Melvin!"_ yelled Molly, Serena's redhead friend since the kindergarden

"_Molly, I didn't see you there. Wow, Melvin is kicking some serious butt"_ said Serena happily

"_Yes, he is actually really good in video games. I'm so glad that you came, I hadn't seeing you in so long"_ said Molly

"_Well, you know how it is, with the play and midterms… But I'm here now aren't I?"_ said Serena

"_Part of you"_ said Molly still looking Melvin play

"_You haven't said anything, right?" _

"_It's not my secret to tell. Plus, I've never broken a promise before"_

"_I'm sorry; I know how you feel about this. I promise I'll handle it better… my temper around him. It's just so frustrating seeing him act like that all the time. To know that he isn't… To know… To know that he is not my Darien anymore"_ said Serena and suddenly she felt a hole consume her body from within

Molly knew her reaction all too well by now, she got used to it after the accident. She helped Serena to take a sit by the computers where it was the least crowded. Serena was hyperventilating.

"_You should drop out of the play"_ said Molly with concern eyes

"_I can't, I tried" _

"_This will kill you"_

"_His not mine anymore, he is not my Darien anymore Molly"_

"_Are you sure about that? I think he is starting to remember"_

"_That would be worse. For him to remember me and… not been with me… it would be worse, because then I would lose him all over again. If he knew the truth… I would lose him again. I can't handle that"_

"_Breathe"_ said Molly and she bent over to look Serena better in her eyes _"I love you Serena, but you are being really stubborn. I won't break my promise, but you should. Darien should know the truth, plus have you thought of the possibility of him finding out from someone else. Wouldn't it be worse that way?"_

"_I don't know"_ Serena whispered

"_Hey Serena here it's your order" _said Lizzie, Andrew's little sister and with that Serena and Molly jumped from the surprise

"_Thanks Liz"_ said Serena a bit embarrassed and annoyed at once _"Where is Andrew? I haven't seeing him"_

"_Oh, well, he actually sent me; he didn't want to come up. He is kind of… avoiding your friend"_ said Lizzie in a gossipish voice

"_Who?"_ said Molly and Serena at once almost two octaves higher than their regular surprised voices

"_Sshhhhhhhhhhh. Lita… Don't make a sound or I swear I'll kill you both"_ said Lizzie leaving Molly's and Serena's mouth's hanging open _"Anyway, don't say a word. He is upset because Lita asked someone else to the ball, and well… he's got a huge crush on her since last year. He is such a coward and didn't had the courage to ask her out, so now he is upset and don't even want to talk to her. She has tried calling him and leaving messages but my pigheaded brother doesn't want to answer them. He was just trying to decide to go or not to the ball. I'm going to make him go. Maybe there they can talk things out… the coward" _

Serena was in shock, have all of this actually being going on and she hadn't realize it. Have their friends been really that right about her… she wasn't herself anymore… and all because of_ him._ She felt horrible, so selfish, such a drama queen. She needed to let go of Darien, her memories, what was left of them. She needed to let Darien go.

It was around 8 that they decided to go back to their houses. As they left The Crown behind them Rei started talking again

"_My God, that was so fun; I can't believe that Melvin was soooo good"_

"_Molly was really happy cheering for him; do you think that there's something going on between them?"_ said Mina but then as they evaluated reality they all started laughing

"_Can't wait till tomorrow" _said Rei

"_Yes it will be amazing"_ said Lita _"I'm really excited"_

"_Serena, are you sure that you don't want to come anyway? You could come with us?" _said Rei

"_No, it's ok, I have to prepare myself for my new math tutor anyway"_ said Serena

"_But you could do that on Sunday and still go to the ball… come on, we are having make-overs and everything. It will be fun"_ said Rei

"_Guys, thank you. I don't wanna go"_

"_You sure?"_ asked Amy _"You already have a dress and everything, it won't hurt you to go"_

"_Oh, but it will. Please guys, let's just drop this ok?"_

"_Well, you never know… maybe you can still have fun at home"_ said Mina with the same suspicious happiness from this afternoon

"_I seriously doubt that. I have a lot of catching up to do with my reading"_

"_Well you never know"_ said Mina still suspiciously happy

They continued walking until they reach the park and they took separate ways. But oddly Lita kept her goodbyes really short and run to catch up to Serena who had already excused herself.

"_Serena wait! I have to talk to you"_ asked Lita still panting a bit from the run

"_Sure Lita, what's going on? Is something wrong?"_

"_No, it's nothing like that"_ said Lita reassuringly _"You know Andrew the longest right? I know that you two are good friends and I wanted to ask if… you knew… if he liked cookies."_

"_What?"_

Lita took a deep breath and let it out _"He sort of declare himself at me and I… I feel horrible for not noticing sooner, but I already had asked Nate out and I just wanted to apologize to Andrew. I…"_

"_You really like him, don't you?"_

"_Yes"_

"_He loves cookies"_

"_Thanks"_ said Lita with a huge smile that suited her so well, she was so beautiful, she had a perfect body crafted by all her karate, dancing and skating lessons. Her brown hair was flowing in the wind and she almost jump from her sudden happiness and her perfect green eyes were smiling with her

"_Now do me a huge favor"_

"_What is it?"_

"_Ask him to dance tomorrow. I know from a perfectly good source that he is going. Talk to him. Nothing would make me happier than seeing you two together"_

"_What am I going to do with Nate?"_

"Nate, shnate. He will get over it"

"_Thanks Serena. Goodnight" _said Lita still with her smile

"_Hey Lita!"_ Serena called

"_What is it?"_

"_I'm sorry"_

"_About what?"_

"_Not paying attention lately. I'm sorry"_

"_S, you never have to apologize to us. You should know better. We all love you. And we will be waiting until you want to talk to one of us. We trust you. If not talking about it makes you feel better, then, we understand. You are going through a rough patch. Believe me, I talk from experience; things will get better" _She was talking from experiencing the most awful patch in her life: when she turned nine and her parent died in an airplane crash. That made Serena feel even worse, she was being so childish about everything, so stupid. Her suffering was nothing compared to anyone else's.

"_You are right. Things will get better"_ said Serena with her signature smile

"_That's my S! Well, see you on Monday. Bye!" _

Well, things would positively get better, but not today, she still wanted to mop around at least two more days which conveniently happened to coincide with a marathon of her favorite show: Grey's Anatomy. So Saturday Serena spend most day trying to figure out some math problems until she gave up and stood up from her desk and went to the kitchen to start preparing all of her munchies for her marathon. As she past the door of her room she looked at the dress she bought weeks ago for the ball… She sighted

So… Mc Dreamy, that's a good idea. Mc Dreamy and several delicious treats, good combo.

She gathered everything up and as the clock announced 2pm she turned the TV on and started watching. About two or three episodes later she was regretting her decision. This was a wrong season to be watching… all the stupid love in the stupid air was almost pathetic at this point.

It was around 5pm when the door bell rang. She didn't even bother to get up from the couch, she kept glued to the TV. That was when her mom Ikuko came to the room with someone by her side.

"_Sweetie, you have company"_ announced Ikuko. Serena turned to see and couldn't believe her eyes.

"_What are you doing here?"_

_

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_Review please, I need some serious affirmation right now (plus I'm vain).... kidding...


	7. Chapter 7

Special thanks to my BFF Kathy, who allways finds time to read my nonsense. Also a special thanks to my beautiful idea giver, magnificent artist and cousin extrordinaire Gigi who many of you might know as Hin4-Ch4n.

I don't own Sailor Moon or Grey's Anatomy or Teddy Gieger song "For you I Will"

mmm... I do own many of the characters in this particular story as I have mentioned before, so Annaleigh Roberts, Mr. and Mrs. Lambert, Dominic Colton, as well as many other extras, all mine. The rest is a combined inspiration between Naoko Takeuchi's creation in the manga, her intervetion in the anime series and the live action series

Hope you will all like this chapter, I think it's the best one yet, but I don't like to play favorites with my chapters... still hope you all like it.

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Chapter 7 Ball of trouble

Meredith

There is no other day. Everyday is like this. Everyday there's a crisis. There's no time.

Derek

Meredith…

Meredith

I love you, and I do want to marry you today; but there is no time…

Derek

You have a piece of paper?

Meredith

For what?

Derek

I want to be with you forever. And you want to be with me forever. And in order to do that we need to make vows, commitment, a contract… Give me a piece of paper.

Meredith

I don't. I. I don't. I have post-its

Derek

Ok. (Meredith sighed)_ What do we want to promise each other?

Meredith

… That you'll love me, even when you hate me

Derek

To love each other, even when we hate each other. No running, ever. Nobody walks out, ever, no matter what happens.

Meredith

No running…

Derek

What else?

Meredith

That we will take care of each other even when we are old and smelly and senile. And if I get Alzheimer's and I forget you…

Derek

I will remind who I am, everyday. To take care when we are old, senile, smelly. This is forever. _Sign

Meredith

This is our wedding. On a post-it?

"_Sweetie, you have company?"_ announced Ikuko.

Derek

Mhm… If you sign it.

Serena turned to see and couldn't believe her eyes.

Meredith

Now what?

Derek

Now I kiss the bride.

Meredith

Married…

Derek

Married… See that? Plenty of time.

"_What are you doing here?"_

"_I came to tell you what an asshole I am"_

"_Well then I think I'll be in the kitchen" _said Ikuko as she left the leaving room

"_Go on" _said Serena _"You can keep insulting yourself, or would you like me to help?"_

"_I think I can manage"_ said the tall guy in the tux _"Please forgive, I'm an idiot"_

"_Yes, you are"_

"_Come to the ball with me"_

Serena kept looking at him an admiring the way he looked in that black tux.

"_I'm sorry. I'm not going to the ball with you"_ said Serena with sad eyes

"_Who are you going with?"_ he demanded

"_I'm not going, end of story"_ said Serena very angry

"_Why?"_

"_I don't need an excuse. I. I. I'm not going, I just don't wanna go. That's it."_

"_Come on"_

"_I don't wanna go, that's it… I just hate the fact that you look so good in a tux"_, she said as he sat next to her in the couch. _"I'm still not going"_

"_Let's compromise then. You come to the ball with me and you can go just like you are right now"_

"_Yeah! Nothing says Valentine's Ball better than sweat pants and a T-Shirt that says 'I'm God's Favorite TV show' "_

"_I still think you are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen"_ she glared at him and scoffed

"_Yeah right! Nice try"_

"_But you are"_ and he took her hands into his own _"Come to the ball with me"_

"_Dominic, I really don't want to"_ she said, sad face again

"_Will it change your mind if I tell you that another five girls asked me out and I said no to each of them so that we could go together?"_

"_Five?!!!! Of course not!!!!!!!!"_

"_It's because you're hung up on Darien"_ she pulled her hands away from him and stood up from the couch

"_I'm not hung up on anyone! I asked you and you said no! Your chance is over! Now get out of my house"_

"_I'll be glad to go out from your house with one condition: go to the damn ball with me!"_

"_Oh well, how can I say no to that…?"_ she rolled her eyes and sighed

"_What are you afraid of? Seeing him with his girlfriend? You can do so much better than him"_

"_You…? The coward?"_

"_Ok, I guess that was called for. But at least I'm not the one hoping for my friend's boyfriend to dump her to come with me"_

"_That was uncalled for! Get out!"_ she yelled

"_Honey is everything ok?"_ said Ikuko with a worried look on her face

"_Yes mom, Dominic was just leaving"_

"_Actually Mrs. Tsukino… I was wondering if I could stay for a while… to convince Serena of coming to the ball with me. I'll make sure she doesn't skip curfew"_

"_Oh sweetie, that's wonderful! But you told me the ball was cancelled, what happened?"_

"_Nothing mom"_ she glared at him _"Stop giving her false information"_ (Isn't this familiar to you?)

"_Actually Mrs. Tsukino, it was my fault, I thought the ball was cancelled. A buddy of mine is in the organizing committee and told me that it was rescheduled. Serena probably misunderstood me, and I was just apologizing to her."_ she couldn't believe her ears, he was so dead

"_Oh, Serena, it wasn't his fault, go to your bedroom and get dressed. See, you are going to use that pretty dress of yours. And you honey, I was just finishing baking some brownies, do you want some?"_

"_That will be great actually"_

"_Mom!"_ she hissed

"_Oh, yeah that's right, we have some homemade ice cream to go with it, come with me to the kitchen dear"_ She just couldn't believe this… but at least she could wear the pretty dress, and show everyone in the world how much she didn't care about Mr. Darien Shields

"_I'll give an hour"_ yelled Dominic

"_I'll come down in two"_ yelled Serena from the stairs.

She was in her bedroom gathering a bunch of stuff to take to the bathroom when someone knocked in her opened door.

"_So… going to the ball"_ said Sammy

"_Yes, I am, actually"_ said Serena running around her room looking for stuff

"_I guess I can still go with Elena then"_ said Sammy

"_Why weren't you planning to go with her?"_ asked Serena confused

"_Cause I wouldn't have gone if you weren't… avoid trouble with mom…for you I mean… or I would have had convinced you to go with me and her"_

"_And play a beautiful violin for the both of you?"_ said Serena sarcastically

"_No… you can't play"_ said Sammy teasingly

"_Shut-up Sammy!"_ said Serena throwing a stuffed animal at him

"_I'm still glad that you are going"_ said Sammy avoiding the bunny easily

"_Me too"_ said Serena happily

It was about 7:20 pm when Serena finally walked down the stairs to meet Dominic in the living room again. Wow, he must have really have had this all planned out. The ball started at 7:30; it was most likely that Mina had told Dominic to arrive a couple of hours early so he could give her enough time to get ready.

"_Wow"_ was all Dominic could manage to say.

"_You liked it?"_ said Serena while twirling around with her dress and playing with one of the curls of her sided pony tail.

"_I don't think I would do you justice with words"_ said Dominic and Serena giggled.

"_Wait, wait, don't go just yet, I want to take a picture"_ said Ikuko walking down the stairs and with a camera in her hands. "It's a pity that Sammy already left to pick up Elena, I would have loved to take a picture of him too"

"_Don't worry mom, I'll make sure that Elena gives you a copy of the one that they are going to take at the ball"_ said Serena as she and Dominic posed for the photo.

"_Smile!"_ said Ikuko and she took the picture "Your father is going to love this photo, I'm going to e-mail it right now"

"_Well mom, I think we have to go now"_

"_It will just take a second, that way you can say hi to him, I'm sure he is at the hotel right now"_ said Ikuko

"_Actually Mrs. Tsukino we should leave, otherwise we would be late"_

"_Well, I guess you are right"_ Ikuko said and sighed and she approached Serena so she could give her daughter a big hug. _"You are growing up too fast"_

"_I love you mom"_

"_I love you too. Take care of my little girl, Dominic"_

"_I will…I promise"_ said Dominic and immediately took Serena's hand and showed her to the car that was waiting patiently in front of her house.

"_Who's in the car?"_ asked Serena

"_My dad, I called him about fifteen minutes ago so that he could take us to the school"_

"_Did you leave your house dressed like that?"_

"_Yeah it was very amusing walking around dressed like this in the middle of the day"_

"_I'm sorry that I was so stubborn"_

"_Actually, I was kind of expecting that you were going to be difficult to convince ,but I hoped I would be able , otherwise I would have had returned home dressed like this_

"_You wouldn't have gone to the ball?"_

"_No, I wanted to go with you…and I don't think I'll ever regret that decision, you look amazing"_ Serena didn't answer, just blushed. Dominic opened the back door for her to come in and then he climbed in next to her.

"_Hi Mr. Colton! It's very nice to meet you" _said Serena a bit embarrassed

"_Hi Serena, it's actually very nice to meet you too. You look lovely"_ said Mr. Colton with a smile in his face

"_Thanks…I'm really sorry if you had to wait"_ said Serena as her cheeks changed color from pink to red

"_Not at all, Dominic said that he wanted to arrive earlier to your house so he could get to know your parents a little better. Right Dominic?"_ asked Mr. Colton to his son who was just sitting in the car

"_What was it?"_ asked Dominic

"_That you wanted to arrive early so you could meet Serena's parents"_ said Mr. Colton

"_Yeah, that's right. But I only could talk to Mrs. Tsukino cause her father had a business trip"_ said Dominic fastening his seat belt

"_Where is your father Serena?"_ asked Mr. Colton starting the engine of his Chevrolet S3X Compact SUV

"_Mmm, dad is in New York right now in a conference"_ said Serena feeling each time more self conscious

"_What do your parents he do for a living?"_ asked Mr. Colton

"_Dad, this isn't 20 questions!"_ said Dominic a bit irritated

"_Oh, I don't mind. My father is a journalist, he works for…"_ said Serena until she was interrupted

"'_The 10__th__ City Journal'; Kenji Tsukino right? I love his columns; he is a very talented writer"_ said Mr. Colton

"_Yes he is…"_ Serena said happily, she was proud of her father

"_Actually dad, Mrs. Tsukino told me that he is receiving an award there" _said Dominic

"_He is? Well you must be very proud of your father Serena"_ said Mr. Colton

"_I am sir, very much"_ said Serena shyly

"_What about your mom?"_ asked Mr. Colton

"_She is a stay-home mom, before me and my brother were born she used to be a kindergarden teacher, but twins are a handful… so she decided to stay home and look after us"_ said Serena

"_You have a twin brother?"_ asked surprised Mr. Colton

"_Yes, but we are soooo different from each other, not just that we don't look that much alike but he have a very different personality"_ said Serena feeling less embarrassed

"_He's an athlete so he just returned two days ago from a tennis tournament"_ said Serena and Mr. Colton chuckled

"_You don't like sports?"_ he asked

"_Sports don't like me"_ said Serena and both Dominic and his father laughed _"It's true, I always managed to mess things that have to do with sports. I'm really starting to doubt that my brother and I are related. He rocks at everything he does"_

"_How did he do in the tournament?"_ asked Mr. Colton

"_He won, no surprise there"_ said Serena

"_Your parents must support him a lot"_ said Mr. Colton

"_Yes, they are very proud of him, I think I'm a bit prouder, that he can exceed in sports for the both of us"_ they all laughed at her remark

"_Well… we are here. Have fun kids"_ said Mr. Colton with a smile in both face and eyes

"_We will dad"_ said Dominic

"_What time is this thing finishing?"_ asked Mr. Colton to his son

"_About midnight I think"_ said Dominic climbing out of the car

"_I'll be here at 12 sharp, don't turn off the cell, ok?"_ said Mr. Colton

"_Ok, ok, bye dad"_ said Dominic opening Serena's door

"_Thanks again Mr. Colton"_ said Serena

"_You are welcomed Serena, have fun"_ said Mr. Colton and he drove away

"_He likes you"_ said Dominic holding Serena in his arms

"_Well, I'm likeable"_ said Serena

"_Have I told you how amazing you look?"_ said Dominic lowering his face slowly

"_Not enough"_ said Serena and gulped and licked quickly her lips. When Dominic's face just an inch apart, she moved away from his embrace. _"Let's take this slow, ok?"_ and he just pulled her again and gave her a long kiss in her cheek, smelling her hair.

"_Fine"_ said Dominic and gave a minute to Serena to return to Earth. God…. He looked so good. Tall, built, tanned, perfect chocolate eyes and hair… but something about him was… was… familiar. His personality resembled a lot of one that she used to know as her own.

They walked the school's beautifully decorated hallways holding hands. The school looked soooooo gooood. This might have been the only time Serena wasn't completely dreading walking through the school's corridors. They were full of hershey's kisses in every color imaginable and in every size available. There were millions of pink, red and white balloons everywhere. It was beautiful.

"_The decoration committee went a little overboard don't you think"_ Dominic asked picking up a couple of hershey's from the floor

"_I think it's beautiful"_ she said twirling again and again

Dominic stood up and admired his date, 'God she is so pretty' he thought, 'Mina was right, I'm such a coward, she is so much worth it'

"_Hey, wait for me"_ he said as he position his arms around her waist. She was just giggling, like a little girl; this also was very familiar.

Once upon a time, in the same city as this story is been held, a bunch of kids were neighbors… they were very good friends despite the age differences… they used to play together all the time……….

"_Let's go, can't wait to go inside"_ Serena said pulling herself away from Dominic arms.

"_Yeah, let's go"_ he said and took her hand

The Gym was even more beautiful. Pink and red everywhere. Ribbons, streamers and decorations were flowing and they were greeted in the gym entrance with a rainfall of silver confetti from a machine.

"_SERENA! OH MY GOD YOU CAME!"_ shouted her friends as soon as she got in the gym. All of them ran from their respective partners and sprinted to her. They slowed a bit when they realized who she had come with, all of them but Mina; she knew all too well that Serena was coming.

"_God! You look so fab"_ said Mina

"_Thanks!"_ said Serena happily

"_You came with him?"_ said Lita bitterly just as she arrived

"_Lita stop it, Serena you look unbelievable, we are really glad that you could make it"_ said Amy giving Serena a hug

"_That's right, Serena you really clean-up good"_ said Rei softly touching her arm while Amy kept hugging her

"_Thanks Amy, Rei"_ said Serena _"Lita, I came…"_

"_And you look very pretty Serena I just wish that you would had come with someone else"_ she said glaring at Dominic

"_I realize that you all hate me, but I just want you all to know…"_

"_That he learned his lesson and the next time he hurts her, he would have to answer to me and all of us"_ said Mina, so Lita nodded her head

"_Take care of her"_ said Lita

"_Actually Dominic, why don't you bring me something to drink, we will be here"_ said Serena to him so he left as well as the rest of the girls dates to gather some drinks. Before anyone could dare talk se began:_ "Amy you cut your hair!"_ said Serena excitedly

"_Told you we were having make-overs"_ said Rei, who looked adorable in her short black strapless

"_But I mean, you had what? Some curls done in the tips? Amy chopped of her black hair… Amy you don't have black hair anymore, do you?"_ asked Serena as she approached Amy and made her bend over a little so she could she her hair more clearly

"_What color is it?"_ demanded Serena

"_It's… it's blue. Dark blue"_ said Amy shyly. Serena smiled to her

"_You look adorable"_ said Serena to her genius friend

"_I hate to interrupt, but can I steal my Valentine for this song?" s_aid a tall handsome guy as he took Amy's arm. He was Greg Lee. Another genius, Amy's type. They were classmates in advanced calculus and Amy had a bit of a crush on him (for future references; a bit of a crush for Amy is more or less what Serena have for Darien). Both his parents were born in Japan but moved to the States when they were young. They met in college, married and then moved to 10th City to start a family. Amy and Greg were very good friends and it didn't surprised Serena to find out that she had asked him to the ball. She looked amazing in that baby blue dress. It suited her very well. Greg grabbed her hand and moved her to the dance floor. The band that was in the stage, a three boy band who were wearing masks start playing their version of 'Can't help falling in love with you'.

"_The band is good, who are they?"_ asked Rei

"_I don't know, you know who they are Serena?"_ said Lita. Serena didn't answer she kept watching Amy. She seemed so happy, her happiness transferred to Serena. She took a couple of steps in their direction, she was hypnotized, and maybe it was the song…

Nate came to find Lita, Nicholas swept Rei away and Scott came to find Mina (yes… Scott Miller, the new version of Paul Walker… General Kunizite)

Serena wanted to dance, but couldn't find Dominic. Where the hell was he? She tried to look for him from her previous spot, in the gym's back. She couldn't find him. She decided to wait for him in an empty table nearby.

She sat down and took off her coat. From her chair she saw how Amy was so immerse in Greg's embrace. Then she moved her view and could see how Andrew, who was dancing with his sister Lizzie, moved strategically next to Lita and asked politely to cut in. Nate, Lita's date, then took Lizzie's hands and started to dance with her instead. Andrew and Lita were now merely moving their feet and inch apart. They were talking, and soon… Lita bended her head to touch Andrew's shoulders. Serena smile again to herself.

Rei was very comfortable dancing with Nicholas. It was funny for Serena to know that Rei had invited Nick to the ball, since she often found him a bit irritating. Nick, who was the only son of a multimillionaire family decided to leave his material life behind and started to back-up through the world so he could find himself. When he arrived in 10th City he came to Rei's temple; the one where she grew up being raised by his grandfather. When Nicholas met Rei he decided to stay there for good and to be her grandfather's new apprentice. For Nick, it was love at first sight; for Rei, it took a deeper look to find what she was looking for. She looked very happy dancing with him. Serena was extremely happy for her. She was very fun of Nick and wanted for them to be a couple. Nick's older years suited Rei's character the best; they complemented each other.

Mina was nowhere to be found in this world. She was in a dream land far, far away. She was dancing as a butterfly with Scott. They became good friends since the drama course began in the beginning of the semester. They spent a lot of time together 'rehearsing' for the play, it was just an excuse to know each other better. Then Mina did what was expected from her: make the first move and ask him out. He was more than happy to accept.

Serena was very happy for her friends and seeing them with their partners made her smile… but then… something horrible happened.

The band started playing another song. The lead singer announced that the song was dedicated for the pretty lonely girl in the back. Serena moved her head around to try to find the girl the singer was talking about. She didn't find anyone who was alone (of course not, it's a Valentine's Ball, put two and two together… For Crying Out Loud!). The song's title was announced

"For you I will" said the lead singer behind his mask and started playing his guitar which gave Serena a bit of an ominous sensation.

Serena immediately found Dominic, still 'looking' for drinks talking to a girl with black hair and bright green high lights in her hair. He looked uncomfortable talking to her, it look like he was trying to escape as soon as he could, he was looking for someone also, maybe he was looking for Serena but couldn't escape his boring conversation.

Serena frowned. She then tried to put another image in her head, one that suited the lovely song. She went to find Amy and Greg again in the dance floor.

Amy and Greg moved from Serena's view letting her see which couple was in the middle of the dance floor: Darien and Annaleigh. She looked like a porcelain doll with her golden dress just below her perfect long legs and her hair down in a multitude of flowing curls.

'Wondering the streets, in a world underneath it all  
Nothing seems to be, nothing tastes as sweet  
As what I can't have  
Like you and the way that you're twisting your hair  
round your finger  
Tonight I'm not afraid to tell you  
What I feel about you.

I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have  
and cannon ball into the water  
I'm gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have  
For you I will  
For you I will'

The whole within her consumed her again, but just increase its intensity when Darien made a turn which left him in front of his partner and Serena at the same time. Annaleigh had her back at Serena so she couldn't see what was her boyfriend glaring at; so she put her arms around his neck and curved her body so she could be in a tighter embrace with him. Darien moved his head to see Annaleigh readjust herself and then moved his head back up. He found Serena and kept glancing at her. Darien and Serena were locked in an intense gaze as the song continued.

He kept dancing slowly with Annaleigh. Annaleigh moved just a fraction to see what was Darien looking at and she found Serena, sitting alone in the dark; …she found the pretty lonely girl in the dark.

Annaleigh pulled his head down so she could easily kiss him. The whole in Serena's body was about to explode when she saw them kiss. She stood up from the table and picked up her purse and coat. Suddenly the stupid song was so familiar… she had heard it before… it was… no… it couldn't possibly be. She started to walk to the door when the words in the song froze her right there. She moved her body to face the stage where the band was playing.

Forgive me if I st-stutter  
From all of the clutter in my head  
Cuz I could fall asleep in those eyes  
Like a water bed  
Do I seem familiar, I've crossed you in hallways  
a thousand times, no more camouflage  
I want to be exposed, and not be afraid to fall.

The lead singer took his mask off… and continued singing.

A horrid dizziness took Serena, she started taking steps back and she stumbled a bit. She was shaking her head side by side as she started her run.

"SERENA" yelled the lead singer.

The song stopped abruptly and everybody turned their faces to see at the stage.

What everybody saw was the lead jumping from the stage running to catch a petite girl in a beautiful pink dress and another guy throwing out a couple of cups and running after them.

* * *

By the way... if anyone is interested in seeing the dresses you can go to my profile and see the pretty pictures that inspired me.

Plus... I know this is going to sound crazy but I often found myself reading other people's fanfic and can't help myself but imagine how will the story be played as a movie. So... I kind of pulled a cast in my head that I think would look good playing these particular characters. If you are crazy enough to adventure yourself and meet the people who are know inspiring for the story go to my profile and find out.

I know, I know... I'm crazy, this will never turned into a movie, I know. But a girl can dream... and if anyone of you is interested in financing the proyect, then it will make my day (LOL)

Still hoping for reviews... bye!!!!


	8. Chapter 8

Special thanks to all of my readers and reviewers, specially saliormoon489, shana elmsford and saliorjupiterox

Also my BFF's Kathy and Mabé, for their neverending support, love you girls!

And my cousin who is million times better writer than I will ever hope to be... love you, hope that we can have another sleep over soon

* * *

Chapter 8 Say it isn't so

It's funny how sometimes a person simply can't run fast enough. Even Serena, she is a very good runner, only thing sport related that she is best than Sammy, but still; can't run fast enough.

Everything was catching up with her: her past, her present and worst of all, her future.

Serena kept running and started hearing voices calling her name. One particular voice was very familiar. It belonged to a childhood friend, a good friend. But it didn't really matter, she needed to run from it; the voice, its owner. So she kept from running it until she tripped and fell to the floor.

"Damn it!" she cried

"Serena, are you ok?" said the singer bending to the floor to help her up

"Don't touch me!" she yelled between sobs

"Serena, let me help you!" said the singer

"You are not you!" she yelled

"What?! Serena it's me… it's me… it's really me" he said in a soothing voice

"YOU CAN'T BE! THIS IS A NIGHTMARE AND YOU ARE A GHOST!" she said hysterically but he simply hugged her and kissed her forehead, she pushed him and looked at the grown

"Stop it! You are not you!" she yelled again

"What do I need to do to proof it to you? It's me, I came back and I'm not going away anymore!" he said losing his temper

"You are not you! You are not you! You are not, you are not, you can't be, you are not, you, you, just can't be here!" Serena said with tears in her eyes and started taking small steps back.

"You can't be this selfish! You know why we had to leave, you know why I left, and you knew what a big opportunity it was for us go to L.A. …"

Serena cut him off "My God! This is a nightmare! This can't really be happening"

"I'M HERE! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST SEE THAT? I'M HERE AND I DON'T CARE THAT YOU LIKE DARIEN AND THAT HE LIKES YOU BACK. I CAME BACK BECAUSE FOR FIVE YEARS I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO STOP THINKING ABOUT YOU. I CAME TO WIN YOU OVER. I CAME TO FIGHT" and with that he pulled her closely and gave her an urgent kiss in her lips. It wasn't what he had hoped for, it tasted like salt. He wanted to make her stop crying and for her to kiss him back…and finally the other guy caught up with them (wow Serena runs very fast, wonder why…)

"Serena? What's going on here?!!" demanded Dominic in shock which made Serena and the singer jump and back off from each other. She looked really confused…

…

(Silence is gold, don't you think?)

"Serena?" asked Dominic again "Did this guy hurt you?"

"No" was all she could managed to say and she started to shake her head

"Then what is it?" asked Dominic approaching Serena closer and closer again until he held out a hand on her cheek and caressed it, she shrugged under his touch and closed her eyes and she let a few tears fell down his hand.

"I wanna go home" she whispered

"What?" asked Dominic "Are you sure?"

"Get me home please!" she said uneasily

"Ok, ok, I'll go call my dad right now. Are you going to be ok?" Dominic asked

"Yes, just get me home!" she said and with that Dominic pulled from his pocket a small cell phone and took a few steps near the hall's window to get better reception

"Go, go away Seiya… I had enough of ghosts for one night" she whispered to the singer

"Serena, where the hell is Darien?" Seiya asked

"I swear to God that if you don't go right now, I'm going to start screaming my lungs out" she said in a low whisper. Seiya frowned and sighed. In that same moment other steps approached Serena, these weren't Dominic's.

"Serena, what happened…? Oh my God! Seiya? Is that really you?" asked Sammy in shock while Serena kept her gaze locked to the ground

"Sammy hey, I came here when Serena …" tried to say Seiya

"What are you doing here?" asked Sammy

"We came back" said Seiya. Sammy glanced from Seiya to Serena and back until he found his voice again

"Seiya you need to go back or your brothers are going to hunt you down and kill you…

So the Three Lights are back in town… Serena, are you going home?" said Sammy

"Dominic is going to take me" said Serena

"Just wait for second, what's going on here. Someone please explain" said Seiya annoyed

"Come Seiya, I'll explain everything later, let Serena go home" said Sammy pushing Seiya farther away from Serena

"Just… stop it Sammy! Serena, what's going on?" Seiya demanded

"Listen dude, I don't care that you are a huge rock star or whatever, but if you want to live to tell the tale you are going to get away right now" said Dominic as she put one hand on Seiya's shoulder and so Seiya shook it off.

"Dominic, it's cool, I'll take care of him, you just take care of my sister" said Sammy trying to calm down Dominic

"Sammy!" Serena called "Explain to the girls…no… tell them that I'm ok, but I just had to leave, I can already hear hills coming over here"

"Ok, I will. Seiya, come, seriously…" said Sammy pushing him again while he kept looking at Serena

"I'll go to your house tomorrow" said Seiya

"You better be dead tomorrow" said Serena cruelly to Seiya

"Yeah! If you dare show up tomorrow, better be in a body bag" said Dominic as he pulled Serena to his embrace and gave her a hug

"Shut up Dominic. Dude come on" said Sammy pulling Seiya out of the school's main hallway.

"Serena, I'm sorry for asking, this is clearly not the time, but, who the hell is that guy?" asked Dominic

"Seiya Kou. Guitar player and lead vocalist of the 'Three Lights'… they came back"

"Serena…?"

"Please take me home" she said crying

She said absolutely nothing during the way back home. Mr. Colton was really worried.

Dominic told him that she had tripped and hurt her ankle and she wanted to go home. He offered to take her to the hospital so that a doctor could check her, but Dominic said that she just wanted to go home and put an ice-pack on her ankle. When they arrived to Serena's house, Ikuko nearly had a heart attack when she saw her daughter arrive so early…crying…without her brother… then Dominic tried to explain what had happened, at least his version of the story. When Ikuko heard the name Seiya Kou all came into place.

Ikuko asked for Dominic to help Serena to the couch in the living room, she still wasn't saying much or moving for that matter.

Ikuko went outside to greet Mr. Colton and to thank him a million. She then helped her daughter up stairs to her bedroom and sat with her in Serena's bed. She soothed her daughter as she bent to her lap and started to cry.

Sammy came home about an hour later, he explain everything to his mother and waited with her in Serena's bedroom floor until his sister fell asleep.

Sunday morning was hell. The phone rang nonstop. Serena's friends were having panic attacks of their own; Dominic's parents also called several times to make sure she was ok because they were also very worried about her.

But it wasn't the phone ring that woke her up; it was the door bell that made her wake-up. It was noon, she really couldn't tell, it was raining a lot.

"Hey sis! Though you were up…" said Sammy

"Who's at the door?" asked Serena

"I am sleepy head" said Annaleigh as she popped her head in Serena's door "Thought you might want to talk to someone"

"Annaleigh" said Serena with a smile "Why are you here?" asked Serena really surprised but happy about her visitor

"You are my friend, aren't you?" and just as Annaleigh was entering Serena's bedroom Sammy caught her arm

"I know what you are doing" Sammy whispered

"Do you Sammy?" Annaleigh whispered back

"I won't let you hurt her" said Sammy still whispering

"I don't know what you are talking about" said Annaleigh with a smug smile

"I warn you!" said Sammy raising a bit his voice

"Samuel, don't threat when it is someone out of your league" she said still smiling. She entered the room and sat in Serena's bed giving her a hug

"Tell me everything" said Annaleigh

"Serena, I'll be hanging out in the house today if you need me" said Sammy

"Why? Go to Elena's! Don't worry about me" said Serena

"See Sammy? She is ok with me" said Annaleigh waving good-bye to Sammy

"I'll be in my room" said Sammy storming out as he left Serena's bedroom

"What's up with him?" asked Annaleigh

"No idea… must be a guy thing" Serena said

"So, do you want to talk about things?" asked Annaleigh

"Yes, first let me ask you something"

"Go ahead"

"Who was the person in charge of organizing the ball?"

"… …. … I don't know. Why the question?"

"Annaleigh, I know it was you. Why?"

"I didn't plan this event"

"But you suggested the band, right?"

"Where is this coming from?" she asked perplexed

"If you were so worried that I might steal Darien away from you; why didn't you say something in the first place?"

"I'm not… and what does it really matter anyway? You are my friend"

"Am I? Come on… At least be honest, and now you can finally drop the innocent act"

"It bugged you, didn't it?"

"What?"

"Me, kissing him" Annaleigh asked coldly

"Being there, kiss that" Serena said, Annaleigh just sighed

"Then why do you care?"

"Why did you hire the Three Lights? Asked them to wear masks, Annaleigh please…" Serena said and glared at her 'friend'. Annaleigh kept completely silent

"I don't know, I guessed that I thought that if you saw Seiya again, then you could forget Darien; and he could finally get over you"

"You know I don't want to be with Darien"

"Now who is kidding herself?"

"Leigh, I told you that I knew Seiya in confidence, not for you to use that information so that you could get even"

"I'm sorry"

"Are you?"

"Yes, you are still my friend, if I hurt… I'm sorry"

"The end justify the means"

"It's not like that Serena"

"Then? I told you already, I'm happy that you are with him, he seems really happy too… but for you to bring Seiya back…"

"What's so wrong with that?"

"Seiya didn't know about the accident, he was Darien's best friend. Your stupid actions have consequences" said Serena angrily; Annaleigh lost her words again…

"I didn't know"

"Of course you didn't" Serena hissed, Annaleigh stood up from Serena's bed and started walking to her door, she stopped and sighed. She grabbed the doors handle and then looked at Serena

"Then I guess it's better that you know that they enrolled at school. They start tomorrow"

"WHAT?!!!!!!!"

"Now we are even" and she threw angrily the door on her way out.

* * *

For all the fans of "Haven't you had enough" The Movie, tell me if you liked the cast and also tell me if you would like a special appereance of your favorite actor or actress in it

(LOL) ^-^!!!!


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks again guys for everything...

(Kathy, I don't know what I would do without you)

So I got to say that I had serious douths about this chapter, because, just for the record the last chapter, this one and the next one were never planned in my original version... but I couldn't possibly let pass the opportunity to complicate even more the plot... so here we go (I did put this story as a drama so don't blame me)

* * *

Chapter 9 How I think things got started Part 1

"You are leaving so soon sweetie?" asked Ikuko to Annaleigh

"Yes… ummm… I just wanted to make sure she was ok" said Annaleigh

"It's hard you know… as a parent… I wish I could say something to make her understand… it wasn't her fault…" said Ikuko and Annaleigh went to her and gave the woman a hug

"I promise you, that everything will be ok in the end"

"I hope so Leigh, I don't think Kenji, Sammy and me can see her like this anymore" Annaleigh just looked at her

"Trust me" and she gave Ikuko a kiss on cheek "I'm so sorry that I can't stay… Abby is not feeling well"

"Go sweetie, your little sister needs you"

"Bye" and with that Annaleigh waved Ikuko goodbye and step outside of the Tsukino Residence.

She walked six blocks until she reached the park; she grabbed a pink cell phone out of her purse and searched for a number on her agenda. She dialed… the phone ringed twice and then it got picked up.

"How did it went, did she bought it?" asked a male voice

"I think she did… at least now she thinks I'm up to no good… I can't do this…"

"Yes you can… where is the actress then?"

"This is different; I didn't know Seiya was his friend… I care so much for the both of them…why didn't… why didn't you tell me?" she yelled at the phone

"Everything happens for a reason Leigh"

"Cut the bullshit" she yelled again and then she took a deep breath "Are you sure you still want do this?"

"Yes… When can we see each other again?"

"I still need to make another house call" said Annaleigh trying to figure out things in her head

"Fine… I will call you then…" and with that Annaleigh closed her phone took a deep breath and started to walk to her boyfriend's apartment

************************************************************

Serena didn't need Amy's mad skills in logic to figure out what was going on.

Everything was making sense now, everything…and everything started two Septembers ago, on Serena's first day in school.

On her first high school day, Serena managed to arrive late to her first class, English. Ms. Haruna was so angry at her that she sent her to detention. It was after 3pm when Serena arrived to the detention hall, it wasn't empty, that was kind of a surprise for her; she thought that she would be the only one to get into trouble so early in the school year, but apparently she was not.

She saw in the hall a bunch of people talking and gathering things around like cardboards, color pallets, decoration samples and some other stuff. Some of them were writing down lists in a whiteboard and everyone seemed to need the green light from an extremely beautiful girl. She was tall and had long light brown hair cut in several layers on her back. She had such a delicate figure, she looked like a ballerina, and her legs seemed to go for miles. She had very fair skin but still touched by a supernatural glow. She also had a supermodel's body; Serena could see it even if the girl was wearing her uniform. She also seemed very mature; maybe she belonged to a higher level; maybe a junior or a senior. The girl had tied the school's sweater to her waist and had rolled her sleeves so she could draw better in some of the cardboards. She then noticed Serena in the back of the class, Serena seemed to be wondering if this was the type of thing that grounded students should had to do in this school.

"Hi!" greeted with a bright smile the brunette girl.

"Hi" said Serena

"You must be the freshman rep for the committee, right?" asked the girl

"The what for the who?" asked Serena

"The representative of the freshmen class? …For the…homecoming?" asked the girl again amused by Serena's face expressions

"I was grounded…does that make me the representative?" said Serena

"You got grounded on your first day? Who was it? Ms. Haruna?" said the girl with sympathy eyes

"Yeah… gotta make a record, right?"

"Don't beat yourself up about it. Once I knew a guy who had to spend all of his spring break helping clean up the school so they wouldn't suspend him, he got a bit crazy with a fire extinguisher"

"No way… really?"

"Yes, my older sister's ex, he was very special…"

"Must been…"

"I'm Annaleigh by the way" she said that while offering her hand to Serena

"Very nice to meet you Annaleigh, I'm Serena" said Serena with a smile and reaching to take Annaleigh's hand

"Serena Tsukino? Really…?"

"What? Am I already expelled?" she said trying to be funny but acknowledging the fact that it may as well be truth

"Oh no! God no! Ummm, listen… ummm" she glared at her still holding Serena's hand on hers. She then abruptly took her hand away and turned herself around. "Give me a second, ok?"

She went to the front of the class and talked to some people who nodded to her. She then graved a beautiful leather back-pack and run to met Serena again.

"Let's go" said Annaleigh graving Serena's hand

"What? I'm on detention"

"Don't worry about it"

"I really think I shouldn't, I don't want to get into anymore trouble"

"You won't, I promise" but still hearing this things didn't calm Serena so she yanked her hand from Annaleigh's grip

"I really think I shouldn't"

"I'm sorry… I should have told you that I'm in charge of the detention hall today so you won't get into trouble, I promise. Girls Scout's honor" and she lifted her right hand up.

"Really, a student can be in charge of the detention hall?" asked Serena surprised

"Yeah… it comes with the lovely duty of being student body president. Thank the lord it will just last another month"

"Wow, student body president! Got to say, I'm making friends with the right people if I can get out of detention this easily from now on" Annaleigh smirked at her remark

"Why? Planning on getting into teacher's nerves a lot?"

"Knowing me… just the teacher's that get upset if I fell asleep in their classes" she laughed again

"You are funny" but she then looked at Serena with sad eyes "I just thought that…ummm" and she closed her eyes to think carefully about her choice of words "I just thought we could talked, get to know each other, swear to God it won't take long"

Serena was confused. Sure Annaleigh seemed really nice and all but she couldn't but help but wonder: Why was she been this nice to someone she didn't know?

"I'm ok, you shouldn't… you shouldn't bother"

"It's ok, come on" Serena didn't seemed to have a choice, Annaleigh was been awfully persistent, so she gave in.

They walked through the corridors until they got to the school's gardens and sat under the largest tree. This was probably the most beautiful spot in the whole school; this little sanctuary was surrounded by daisies of several colors.

Serena took a deep breath and closed her eyes; it was a very beautiful spot… perfect for drawing.

"It's beautiful out here, right?" asked Annaleigh as she sat in front of Serena

"Yes it is" said Serena still with closed eyes

"You are probably wondering why I asked you to talked to me"

"Among other things…" Serena opened her eyes and sighed

"I'm… I…" Annaleigh sighed as well "I just wanted to talk to you, see… I really don't know how to start this, but I guess I should give it a go… I'm a junior… since today anyway…ummm… Did your parents wanted you to come to this prep school?" (Coward)

That question took Serena out of the blue (no wonder) "Yes…they are really hoping for me and my brother to get into a good college someday"

"Do you know how many years you are going to stay in the school?"

"Probably just the mandatory 5… How many are you staying?"

"I'm going through with all 7 of them"

"Really? So… you could have graduated last year, right?"

"Yes, but… if you stay for two more years getting into college is a lot easier. Plus since this year there are no mandatory curriculum you have to complete, is sort of like college, you pick a 'minor' and then you can take as many different courses as you like. They do this so you can take a good informed decision of your choice career once you arrived at college; plus you don't have to repeat the courses you already took here in college"

"Any college?"

"Well most of them, it had to do a lot with the class curriculum but most of the class is the same, so they validate the subjects"

"That's… rewarding…I guess"

"It kind of is, isn't it?"

"Is that what you wanted to talk about?"

"Not…exactly"

Serena didn't know where this conversation could possibly head to, so she may as well get to know her new friend

"So… what is your mayor? Or minor I guess?" asked Serena

"Drama and psychology"

"Wow, that sounds great, so what courses do you take?"

"Creative workshop, History of Psychology, Photography, Economy, Sociology, Cinematography and Corporal Language"

"Wow, I didn't realize that you could take this type of courses here"

"If you want too… I mean, if the teachers just stick with the given curriculum it would be boring as hell for them I think" and they laughed

"So what are you taking this semester?" asked Annaleigh

"Ummm, English, Spanish, French, Science, Social Studies, Math, PE, Art, Music and IT"

"Have you given any thought about the electives that you have to choose?"

"Not exactly…maybe home economics or painting"

"That sounds good…"

They stood quiet for a while…not knowing what else to ask, but then Annaleigh spoke again.

"My mom is an actress and I want to be one, as well, someday. Both my parents are very strict about me working right away, so I haven't had a chance to work, I have just made a few commercials; they want me to go to college first… And since…ummm… I'm not explaining this right…ummm… The thing is that last year I started to take psychology…the general course, and my professor advised me to get into the 'Student Counseling' program, so basically I take under my wing someone… of the freshmen class… that might need… that is known to have a particular past. He advised me this for three reasons. First: that I did well in psychology last year. Second: that I already participated in this program but as the protégé. And, finally, that I already know what happened to you" when Annaleigh finished talking, Serena looked at her with shock in her face.

"How?" asked Serena coldly

"I wasn't assigned to you, I requested you, because I already know what happened"

"I'm not asking how I was assigned, I'm asking how could you possibly know what happened?"

"Because when I started dating my boyfriend the school's counselor called me to his office and told me so I could understand his past… and to decide if I still wanted to begin a friendship with him"

"…" Serena couldn't say anything "You are dating Darien Shields" she whispered

"I understand that the two of you were friends when you were little"

"You could say that" and Annaleigh could see how Serena's eyes started to get filled with water

"I won't say that I know how you feel, but I know I can relate"

"How can you possibly relate?" said Serena harshly "That was my best friend, I lost my best friend… do you know how does it feel to wait for someone to wake up and for him not recognize you?"

"No"

"I didn't think so… I don't want to talk about this anymore" she started to whipped her tears away and stare at the ground, how much time was this torture gonna take? Serena regretted so much the fact of not being able to catch Sammy on the way out… stupid alarm clock

"Remember when I told you that I had an older sister?"

"Yes… Does she go here too?"

"Not anymore"

"She graduated?" said Serena still looking at the ground

"No… she… Her name was Amber, she was so pretty… I loved her so much… but one day, five years ago, a son of a bitch alcoholic bastard crashed his car into hers…"this time Annaleigh whipped her tears from her eyes "So I do know how it feels to wait for someone to wake up… but she never did. So I can relate to you better than any other person, and that's why I requested you… because I wanted to spare you the pain that feels to have to talk to someone you can't hate. So hate me… I'm dating your friend, who doesn't remember you. And I know that sooner or later you would want to talk about it… For over a year I couldn't talk to anyone, not even my parents, I just wanted to be with Amber… I really did try to be with her… believe me… It's much healthier if you do talk…but I…" Serena cut her off

"Is he happy?"

"I hope he is… I do know that he would never be as happy as before, he gets frustrated easily with things that got to do with the past… but then I think that he does ok, I mean, the accident happened just two years ago…"

"I don't…hate you… just don't make me talk about it just yet… and I'm sorry for your lose"

"I'm sorry about yours…" Annaleigh whispered

"I wish I could hate you… It would make things a lot easier"

"I'll try my best then" and with that they both looked at each other with tears in their eyes and laughed.

Yes… things got started that very day…

What was Annaleigh doing anyway? Talking about Hot n' Cold…

Serena guessed that Annaleigh hadn't felt jeopardize until a few weeks ago because Darien hadn't noticed her… So the 'crash' was the trigger or maybe… or maybe she was missing something…

**************************************************************************************

Annaleigh arrived to the Luxury City Departments; she sighed, closed her eyes and took a very deep breath.

'Here goes nothing' she thought

She climbed in the elevator and pressed the bottom for the 22nd floor. She climbed off and then walked to the door that had the "Shields" sing on. She rang the door bell and a few seconds later her boyfriend opened the door

"Hey there stranger" greeted Darien

"Can I come in?" asked Annaleigh

"Of course silly… What happened?"

"What?"

"You look awful" said Darien sitting down on his couch

"Do I? Well as a matter of fact I don't feel so hot right now" she said quickly

"Do you want something to drink… tea maybe?" offered Darien, worried look on his face as he saw his girlfriend start pacing in his living room

"No, no, I don't need tea… I need to ask you something"

"Ok, what is it?"

"Are you in love with her?"

"What?"

"Are you or are you not in love with Serena Tsukino?"

Darien stood up from the couch

"I'm not going to justify that question with an answer" yelled Darien

"Wrong answer" yelled Annaleigh back

"You know how much I love you, why are you doing this? Why the sudden lost in confidence"

"Don't lie to me! You couldn't stop staring at her yesterday! So I'm going to ask you something, when we are playing Mr. and Mrs. Sweetheart at least have the decency of not look at other women as if they were something to eat"

"I wasn't looking at her like that!"

"Then what was that?!"

"That was nothing! That was nothing, I just… I just thought that…"

"That she looked really good, oh how convenient she is alone"

"It wasn't like that!"

"Then how?!!!!"

"Like if I was… like if I knew… I don't know… when I'm around her… I feel that I haven't… that nothing is missing…that she is what's missing…like she knows what I'm missing" he whispered (ouch!)

"She is what's missing?"

"You know that I don't mean it like that. Why would I want to be with her? I don't know her, I know you, and I love you. You have been there for me, you are my family now" Annaleigh looked at Darien

"I don't want to do this" she whispered, Darien didn't heard

"What?"

"I don't want to do this" she said louder

"Us?" She shook her head over and over again until Darien reached for Annaleigh and put both his hands in her face and whipped her tears

"Listen to me; I love you and I will never stop, never stop loving you" Darien bent his head slowly until he was an inch apart from Annaleigh. He kissed her eyes, her forehead, her cheeks and then he met his lips with hers.

Annaleigh quickly step away and ran to the door but Darien was faster and grabbed her arm pulling her into him in one quick move.

"Talk to me! What the hell is wrong?"

"YOU! You are what's wrong! I am what's wrong!"

"What the hell are you talking about? Leigh you have never being jealous before." She started to cry.

"I just wanted you to know that if you ever hurt me… I'm going to hurt really bad whatever it is that you love the most" Darien looked scared… this wasn't definitely his Leigh… beautiful, innocent, smart and funny Leigh who wouldn't hurt a mouse but find it a better home.

"This is not you" he said

"THE FACT THAT I'M FINALLY GETTING SICK TIRED OF BEING MARCIA FREAKING BRADY ALL THE TIME DOESN'T MEAN THAT I'M NOT LIKE THIS"

"Look at you… you are shaking…"

She didn't wait, she opened Darien's door and closed it and started running to the elevator. She pressed the down bottom and started to wait for it to come to the 22nd floor

"COME ON!" she yelled to the elevator

Then she noticed that Darien opened his door and looked around to see if she was already gone. The elevator opened its door and she looked at him for one second before getting in and started to press the close door bottom that seemed to not work. She heard Darien calling for her and running to try and stop her, but as he reached the elevator the doors closed.

"DAMN IT" Darien yelled as he hit the door

She pressed the stop bottom and felt to the floor and couldn't stop crying…

* * *

Do you still hate Annaleigh? I guess you do... I do as well...sometimes

So... in other less important news, last Tuesday I started school again, so I'm back in college, I've had a very small summer... I partially blame it to the fact that I've spent every single second available reading Twilight's saga and watching my Sailor Moon DVD's...

I tell you this because I may not be able to update as frequently... as I've hoped... but to compensate I will try to write longer chapters... so... remember, there is still another chapter full of tears and drama until we get back in track... (I really love you all...so please don't hate me)


	10. Chapter 10

Ok, I know...I suck... God! Has it really been this long?

I guess... well, let me just tell you that i have I perfectly good explanation:.................................... ok, maybe I don't have a good explanation, or one at all... but if it's any consolation I hate college and college seems to hate right back.

Well, finally I'm done with the whole past stuff, I hope you can understand the story better with this chapter, it seriously gives a lot of information, plus it's really cute, and strong, and full of drama, just the way I love.

I would like to dedicate this chapter (my favorite, you'll see why) to myself. Hahahahaha

No, really, this chapter is for me, because yesterday, August 25th was my birthday. So Happy birthday to me! Feel free to send me love and best wishes and overall Darien Shields to my dreams! Hahahah

Enjoy,

* * *

Chapter 10 How I think things got started Part 2

Darien was now kicking the elevator's door really hard until he drove himself attention from his neighbors.

"Darien is everything alright?" asked an old lady who lived right across from the elevator.

"Everything is great Mrs. Lucas. I'm sorry if I disturbed you". The old lady narrowed her eyes at him but after a few seconds she decided best to leave the boy alone, so she returned home.

He lean his back to the elevator's door and sighed. He closed his eyes and a fresh memory came to his head: Serena; 'she is what's missing…' (Did he actually say that? Oh, that's right, he did… ouch)

He returned back to his apartment; luckily both his aunt and uncle were out, so he wouldn't be disturbed when he started melting down. He opened and closed his door in one quick move; then he started to pace around the living room trying to collect every memory from his past that he could. He tried, and tried, and tried again, but nothing could lead to Serena…

He remembered the hospital, that very uncomfortable bed, he remembered feeling pain, he remembered the tubes coming in and out of everywhere, he remembered his aunt face, well at least after she explain that she was his aunt. He remember then a bunch of people that where talking to the nurses and the doctor and then a little girl… she was crying or had been, she had bandages and cuts all over her, she had a cast on her right arm and with her left hand was grabbing his.

"Darien…" she said in a whisper. Darien kept watching his hand and started feeling very scared. 'Who were this people? Where was he? Who was he?'

Everything went fuzzy after that, he didn't remember much before leaving the hospital. After arriving to his uncle's apartment he didn't remember ever seeing again the little girl. She could have been family and he hadn't realized it. But it didn't make sense that if that little girl was family both his uncle and aunt would keep her away. Everything was starting to feel dizzy… it wasn't easy for him… forcing these memories in his mind…

He sat in the couch, he raised his hands to the level of his eyes… he could still see the scars…

He closed his eyes again and forced his mind once again to go back to the day of that fatal accident; but he could only see those magnificent blue eyes.

As he saw those eyes he started to lose conscience and quickly Darien started to fade in a world of dreams, hunted by endless nightmares.

Serena kept pacing in her room while trying to figure out things for herself. She continued to search memories from her past with Annaleigh that might give something more, one more clue so that the puzzle could be completed. She didn't understand; Annaleigh had always been such a good friend…why now?

Serena was genuinely happy about Annaleigh's relationship with Darien (oh come on, not even I believe that one). That's when the sudden desire of searching for a song started.

Serena started looking for her CD player. She hadn't used it for a while since her parents bought her an ipod, but she didn't have this particular song in her ipod… and she really needed to listen to it.

She finally found it in the bottom of one of her dresser drawers. She picked her earphones and continued searching for this particular CD. It was a demo, recorded five years ago. She sat in her bed and pressed 'play'

The sound of a beautiful piano started playing slowly some keys making up the most magnificent melody until it was transformed into the music of the song. A boy started singing.

'For once in my life I've got someone who needs me'

'Someone I've needed so long' sang the voice of a little girl who started giggling

"This is the song that you know?" she asked

The boy continued playing the music and answered "Yes, I love this song"

"I just think it's really old" said the girl

"Yeah? Which song do you know then?" asked the boy still playing with the keys

"Mmm, let me think… I like Kelly Clarkson, A Moment like this" said the girl

"There is no way you remember that song" said the boy

"Of course I do! I love that song" said the girl "Please… play it!"

He sighed "I think in the future I will get in a lot of trouble because of you"

"Why?" she asked with a confused tone of voice

"Because I can't ever say no to you" said the boy and the girl giggled again "But I can't play it"

"Why not?" demanded the girl

"'Cause I don't know it" said the boy

"Darien please!" requested the girl again

"Serena I really don't know the song" said the boy and then it sounded like if the girl stick out her tongue in protest. "Don't worry, I'll play another one" and then a new melody started to fill Serena's ears.

There's a calm surrender to the rush of day  
When the heat of the rolling world can be turned away  
an enchanted moment, and it sees me through  
It's enough for this restless warrior just to be with you

And can you feel the love tonight  
It is where we are  
It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer  
That we got this far  
And can you feel the love tonight  
How it's laid to rest  
It's enough to make kings and vagabonds  
Believe the very best

There's a time for everyone if they only learn  
That the twisting kaleidoscope moves us all in turn  
There's a rhyme and reason to the wild outdoors  
When the heart of this star-crossed voyager beats in time with yours

"I love that song, I remember when your dad bought that movie and you came to watch it at my house. Sammy wanted to be Simba so bad!" said the girl

"I remember you wanting to be Nala" said the boy

"Yes, 'cause she totally rules. And you remember Seiya all mad at Sammy because he wanted to be Simba. That was like…so funny" said the girl chuckling

"I do, it was very funny" said the boy laughing

"I will love to have that, you know…to live a fairytale love. To have someone, I don't know…to stare at the moon with" said the girl

"Serena, I will always be with you" said the boy

"Do you mean that? You will always be with me?" asked the girl

"Forever if I can, Serenity" said the boy, and the girl gave him a sweet little giggle. It was a bit quite for a while but Serena could still hear the music played by the piano, this time the boy was playing "Beauty and the Beast" softly.

"What does that red light does?" asked the girl.

"Which light?" asked the boy.

"That one, in the thing that looks like a stereo" said the girl and then the boy ended his music sharply

"Shoot, I think we recorded this" said the boy in alarm

"What? Yaten is going to kill us, he said we couldn't come here" said the girl

"Yeah, I know, he will freak if he finds out, go quick, press the 'Record Button', yeah, the red one and grab the CD, quick let's go" said the boy in a rush and then, a few seconds later the CD stopped. Serena took her earphones off and looked at her window, it was raining again.

"Forever if I can" said Serena out loud

"What was that sweetie?" asked the person standing in Serena's door frame. Serena turned to see who it was and her face lit up to see that her father was finally home.

"Daddy!" cried Serena as she rushed to greet her father with a huge hug. "You are home!"

"My little bunny! I missed you so much" said Kenji giving her a kiss in her forehead.

"I thought you weren't coming until Tuesday" said Serena

"You know me, can't keep me away from my family for too long" said Kenji

"I'm so glad you are back" said Serena

"Plus, I had to find the first flight home when your mom e-mailed me that picture. Going on dates without my permission?" asked Kenji and Serena started to back away from him laughing nervously.

"Of course not dad! Why would you think that?" said Serena defending herself

"You two were awfully close in that picture Serena" said Kenji reproachfully

"It's not what you think dad, he is just a friend" said Serena trying to calm her father

"Well, I know that, just wanted to check, because I know that you know that you will be able to date when you turn 40 right?" said Kenji seriously

"Yes dad and I will be able to marry by the time I'm 50 and finally have sex when you and mom are dead" said Serena teasingly

"Good to know we are in the same page" said Kenji with a smile, heading to Serena's door. "By the way, I found some strays and thought about bringing them home, they seemed very sad"

"What are talking about?" asked Serena walking towards her bed

"About them" said Kenji opening Serena's half-close-door, so she turned to see her friends carrying their sleeping bags and some other stuff.

"Are we having a sleepover I don't know about?" asked Serena looking at them

"Kind of a last minute thing" said Lita

"We sort of decided that we needed to talk" said Mina

"More like you spill and we gossip sort-of-stuff" said Rei dumping her bag in the floor

"We were just worried about you, you left in the middle of the ball" said Amy

"Plus you have to tell us all about how the hell you know Seiya from the Three Lights… ups!, sorry Mr. Tsukino" said Mina hiding her mouth behind her hands

"Don't worry, I was just leaving. Carry on girls…just let Mom Ikuko know when you want to have dinner, ok?" said Kenji leaving Serena's bedroom. The girls left their stuff all over Serena's floor and then proceeded to sit on her bed graving pillows or stuffed bunnies to hold.

"So, start spilling" said Rei

"I don't know what exactly are you expecting me to tell you guys" said Serena sinking in her mattress.

"Do you know him?" asked Mina

"Was it really him?" asked Lita

"How is he as a friend?" asked Amy

"Is he as hot in person as he is on T.V.? asked Rei

"Are they really brothers?" asked Mina

"Do they really play?" asked Lita

"Does Taiki really have an I.Q. of 350?" asked Amy

"Is it true that Yaten loves cats?" asked Mina

"Are they single?" asked Rei

And the jabbering continued for God only knows how long while Serena simply continue to sink in her mattress. When the questions started to get really annoying she snapped at them. Mina was in the middle of asking if it was true that Yaten's favorite cereal was Rice Krispies when Serena grabbed a pillow and putted it in her face and started screaming her lungs out.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

"What the hell is wrong?" screamed Rei back to Serena

"I don't care if they were the ones that discovered Radium or if they sleep on teddy bear pajamas or if Taiki compose all their songs or if Yaten has a collection of ancient Japanese china or if Seiya once was sent to detention for throwing a banana into the classroom's fan. I don't care about the Three Lights, I don't care about them and they could very much die in this instant that I don't give a shit" yelled Serena to her friends

"Serena!" said her friends at the same time

"How dare you say those things about the Three Lights!" yelled Mina and for some reason seemed to be extremely angry which gave her the appearance of been ten times her small size. This reaction made Serena feel so confused, that if this was an anime I swear a sweat drop would appear somewhere near her face.

"Why are you so mad?" asked Serena

"You just don't talk like that about the Three Lights!" said Mina

"They aren't that famous!" said Serena frustrated

"What are you talking about? They are all over the news, they are the new hottest group in the country" said Lita

"Yes that's right, their newest single sold 1.234.567 copies in the first week" said Amy and when everyone turned to see her with a baffled expression, she turned bright red from embarrassment.

"I still don't think they are that big of a deal" said Serena

"I can't believe you. You know nothing!" said Rei and Serena just sighed and hugged the pillow close to her chest even harder

"I always knew they were going to hit it big. Ever since the first time we all went to that stupid camp" said Serena with a very sad expression, all the girls seemed troubled by this new expression in her.

"Serena…" whispered Mina

"I always knew that they were going to be huge stars…

"I met them about twelve years ago. They used to live two blocks down from here. Their father had just passed away when they moved. Mrs. Kou, their mother, was very young so when her husband passed she decided to move back to her home town, near her parents so they could help her raise her three boys. She wanted for them to have as a normal life as possible now that their father wasn't around anymore. Mrs. Kou met my mom when she was dropping Sammy and me at the day-care. They instantly became good friends; mom also introduced her to Molly and Melvin's moms. The three of them became very good friends and as it was expected the seven of us became very good friends as well. I remember when we had the sleepovers, it was so fun, we would play so many things…even Yaten and Taiki would play. Then we started in kindergarden; Melvin was bullied all the time by the bigger kids but Seiya always help him. Seiya was Melvin's hero; he really used to look up to him.

"One particular day; I think we were still in kindergarden, Yaten was in first grade and Taiki in second grade; Taiki brought a friend home. He was the most beautiful boy I had ever seen. When we first met he used to tease me all the time, he even called me 'meatball head'" said Serena

"Oh my God, that suits you so well!" said Rei out of the blue.

"Rei shut up and let her finish the story" yelled Mina from her spot.

"It's ok; I actually deserve the nickname… This boy and I became very close, he was always protecting me, and he always made everything in his power to make me smile" said Serena sadly.

"Who was he?" asked Mina, Serena looked at her and gave her a sad smile

"I think you all can figure this one out" said Serena with water filled in her eyes, they all gasped.

"Oh my Lord" let out Mina

"Was he…?" tried saying Lita

"I can't believe is…" managed saying Amy

"You really knew Darien Shields?" finished Rei

"He was my best friend, he always listen to me, he always soothed me when I fought with Sammy or if something bad happened in school. He would always take me to the park and would buy me ice-cream and bunny shaped balloons" she started crying "He would always take my hand, he would always…be there…" but then the water works started and Serena's friends found very little comfort in knowing that nothing they said would calm her up.

After a while Serena started talking again "He used to live next door… right next door…funny isn't it? To have someone you care so much about so near you"

"I still don't understand why he doesn't remember you" said Mina

"Actually, it's not only you, he doesn't talk to Molly or Melvin either" said Amy, but Serena remained in complete silence.

"Serena?" inquired Lita

"You have to promise that you will take this to your tomb, otherwise I will never ever talk to you again" said Serena

"I promise" said Lita

"I promise" said Rei

"I promise" said Mina

"I promise" said Amy, none of them hesitated, but Serena did. She was about to reveal to her best friends her most dark secret, the one that hunted her, the one that stole away her happiness so many years ago.

"What exactly do you know about Darien?" asked Serena. The girls looked at each other and shook their heads, they really didn't knew much about the most popular boy in high school, at least not about his past or personal life"

"I know that he is student body president, that he was selected as class valedictorian, that he entered Tenth City Academy four years ago…that he was accepted two years ago to the most prestigious universities in the country but decided to remain in the academy two more years" said Amy

"That he is captain of the soccer team and that, thanks to him, the Academy was won three years in-a-row the National Championship" said Mina

"That he often helps the tutoring program when they are lacking students and that he is very skilled in martial arts" said Lita

"That he dates Annaleigh Roberts" said Rei, and Serena sighed and gather her thoughts 'Should she really tell her friends? Would they want to be her friends after she tells the truth?'

"Darien is adopted" said Serena and she heard surprised expressions from her friends.

"Really? I didn't know that" said Lita

"Not many people know" said Serena

"But what's that has to do with the fact that he doesn't remember you?" asked Rei

"Because when he was 13 he was in a car accident, and…and…and…his parents…he has amnesia, he doesn't remember anything before the accident. It's like his life before the car crash didn't even happened" said Serena shedding a couple of tears down her face.

"Oh my God, Serena! You knew all this and never told us? You must be in so much pain, seeing him with someone else… You should have told us sooner" said Mina

"It's not like that at all…I don't care he has a girlfriend" said Serena

"Come on! Who do you think you are kidding? You obviously love him!" said Rei

"No, I don't. Not anymore, honestly, I just wanted for him to be happy. I just want him to be happy" said Serena

"Serena…" said the girls in a worried voice

"I just want him to be happy and I just want to be happy as well. I just want someone who wants to hold my hand, I just want someone who wants to go to the park with me, I want someone who wants to buy me ice-cream and bunny shaped balloons and that if I let my ice-cream drop to the floor that he would buy me another one… I just want to be in love but I can't fall in love with anyone else! I can't fall in love with anyone else because I gave my heart to him and I want it back! I want to be in love with someone that makes promises and keeps them! I want to be in love with someone that never ever forgets me! I want to forget him as well…so I can fall in love with someone else" finished Serena and with that proceeded to cry for the rest of the afternoon in her friends laps.

When Serena was finally asleep on her bed, the girls pulled a blanket over Serena's exhausted body and tip-toed back to the door and down to the living room. In the living room they found Sammy watching T.V. on the couch holding hands with his beautiful girlfriend Elena. The Mexican beauty had green eyes and long honey-blond hair which she often dressed in several thin braids; she also had an amazing talent in music and was one of the most brilliant students in Rei's Music class. She moved to 10th City about seven years ago, and met everyone in first grade. Now she was in the same classroom as Sammy and really enjoyed hanging out with him.

She was resting her head on Sammy's shoulders when the girls came into the living room.

"How is she?" asked Elena

"At least she finally went to sleep" said Mina

"I don't know how you guys did it before, she is a mess" said Rei and Sammy sighed and turned off the T.V.

"Thanks for coming" he said

"Thanks for calling us" said Lita

"Seeing Seiya again brought a lot of memories to her" said Sammy

"Childhood memories?" asked Amy

"Not exactly…I think it's safe to assume that she was remembering the last summer camp we spent all together. The one before The Three Lights left the city, the one before the accident…" said Sammy

"I don't understand why she keeps blaming herself" said Elena

"What are you talking about?" asked Mina

"Serena blames herself for the accident, and that is crazy, no one blames her, no one could have predicted that"

"What are you talking about, why would she blame herself?" asked Rei

"She didn't tell you about the crash?" asked Elena

"She told us that that is how Darien lost his memories" said Lita

"She skipped a part or two then…" said Elena

"Elena! If she is not comfortable yet…we can't force her, if we do she might end up hurt worse" said Sammy

"Not telling is what's hurting her, keeping all these ridiculous secrets… Have you thought about the possibility of telling Darien so we could end this stupid charade? We all know they are going to end up together anyway!" said Elena frustrated

"Do you think I honestly enjoy watching my sister suffer like that? If I had thought that telling Darien would help, I would have told him already. But I also know that the person that needs to tell him the truth is sleeping upstairs and that we promised to keep her secret" said Sammy back

"Ok, time off! What the hell are you guys talking about?" asked Mina completely confused

"Tell them!" demanded Elena "Or I will" Sammy sighed

"You are impossible, you know that?" said Sammy

"Yes, and that's why you love me" said Elena

"Tell us what?" asked Lita in a concerned voice

"Summer camp" said Sammy

"I will tell them" said Serena from the living room arch.

"Serena!" exclaim everyone at once

"You should go back to bed" said Amy trying to persuade Serena

"No, it's about time I tell…but I won't tell you everything…just some things you need to know to understand this situation a bit better…"

"You don't need to do this Serena. We understand you" said Rei giving Serena a reassuring smile

"But I want to" and so Serena move to the center of the living room and sat on the floor, rapping the blanket that her friends tucked her in closer to herself as a way to comfort her heart.

"Mrs. Kou used to be a very talented musician; she was a…Julliard graduate, in piano. She once told us that she used to give concerts around the world but she gave up that life when she married. Mr. Kou was supposed to be some kind of entrepreneur in the technology industry or something like that; they basically had more money than Donald Trump.

Mrs. Kou then found a job in a summer camp, as a teacher. She said that her boys were growing up very fast and that she wanted to work with children that had potential to become great artists. So, every summer we would pack and go for a month to 'Blue Bear Mountain'. During your first week the teachers there tested our abilities to find out in which field you were more likely to succeed. Sammy went to the Sport Program, Molly and I went to the Art Program, Melvin and Darien went to the Science Program and the Kou's went to the Music Program. We would have a couple of classes during the day and after that we could do almost anything. I even had the chance to learn how to ride a horse" said Serena enthusiastically

"Really?" asked Lita

"Yes and we also learn all sort of cooking stuff too" said Serena

"Which Serena obviously forgot" said Sammy and everyone laughed at his remark

"Ha ha, very funny Samuel" said Serena menacingly, to what Sammy responded sticking out his tongue to her.

"Moving on…" said Elena

"You also came with us, right El?" asked Serena

"Yeah…for four years…until…" said Elena

"Yeah, until the accident" said Serena but then there was a big silence surrounding everyone

"I have a question, how do you know Annaleigh?" asked Mina

"Don't you mean the wicked witch of the West?" said Sammy

"Sammy, don't call her like that!" said Serena

"Believe me, that's the nicest one" said Sammy

"Why do you call her like that?" asked Lita

"Because she is a bitch" said Sammy

"Sammy!" exclaimed Serena

"She is! You just won't admit it. She is mean, she manipulates people and she thinks she is the queen of the world. I've seen her…she plays her innocent card to everyone, and you just buy every word that comes out of her mouth" yelled Sammy

"Samuel Anthony Tsukino shut up right now! I won't have you bad mouth her. You don't know what she's up to; you don't know her like I do!" yelled Serena back to her brother

"Do you know what she is up to?" asked Sammy

"No" said Serena in defeat

"I didn't think so" said Sammy

"I just know that whatever she intends to do…there must be a perfectly good explanation for all of this" said Serena

"You know what your problem is? You trust in people too much! That's why you always end up crying yourself to sleep" yelled Sammy

"Sammy…" said Rei

"Whatever, I'm giving up! You refuse to learn! You believe her! Don't you see that she just wants Darien for herself?" said Sammy

"Sammy stop it, she doesn't need this right now!" said Lita

"Don't be so cruel to her" said Mina

"No, let him, he has bottle it up for God only knows how long. Say it!" yelled Serena

"For God's sake, you are such a drama queen! I think you are totally convinced that the world turns around you. News Flash: It doesn't! You are so filled up in your own stuff that you don't even care about the people around you. When it comes to Darien, no one else exits for you. I don't know if it is guilt or just a stupid crush. Honestly, when are you going to realize that a nine year old could have never cause a car accident, that is not your fault that his parents died, that is not your fault that he got amnesia, that is not your fault that all that shit happened" said Sammy and with that some of the girls gasped. "You know what your fault is? That you gave up! Serena, you gave up on him. You just freaked out and got scared; you never gave him the chance to get to know you all over again; or to all of us for that matter; you just chicken out"

"He forgot me" whispered Serena

"No, Serena… he didn't. If he really did forget you he wouldn't look at you the way he does" said Sammy

"You don't understand…" tried saying Serena

"No, you are the one that doesn't understand" said Sammy

"I spent all of those years living what? A fantasy? Something not worth remembering? Something that could just vanish with a stupid bump in the head? Am I that forgettable? Do you realize that if I hadn't fallen for him none of this would have ever happened? Do you realize that if I had fell for Seiya instead, his parents could still be alive?" yelled Serena with all of her lungs. Then she just stood up from her spot in the floor and headed to her room, she wasn't crying…she didn't have the strength. She lay on her bed and just surrendered to her sleep. She traveled back in time, to that summer camp so many years ago.

In the middle of a playground waited a very small blonde girl. Her pigtails flowed with the wind while the skirt of her dress danced around as well.

"Who are waiting for muffin?" said a dark haired boy

"Don't call me that! Only Darien can call me that Seiya!" said the little girl all flared up

"Are you waiting for him?" asked the boy

"Yes, he said that we could go hiking today" said the girl happily

"Which trail?" asked the boy

"The one that leads to the lake" said the girl

"Ewww, only couples go there. Are you going to kiss him?" said little Seiya

"What? What are you talking about? He is not going to kiss me!" said the little girl

"He better not, he promised that he would give me a fair chance this summer" said Seiya

"A chance in what?" asked the girl

"Don't you worry, you will see" then he gave a kiss on the girl's cheek and left "Bye Muffin, see you later"

"Don't call me that!" yelled the girl

"Don't call you what?" asked another boy with black hair as the night and eyes as blue as a deep ocean.

"You came!" said the girl

"You thought I wasn't coming?" asked the boy

"No, you always come… sooner or later" said the girl

"You make it sound as if I'm always late, when you are always the one late to everything" said the indignantly the boy

"Get over yourself already and take me hiking" said the girl pulling the boy's arm

The dreamed took Serena to the 'Lover's Lake' where she saw the two little kids playing near the lake's shore. The boy was throwing water at the girl while she was trying to do the same but failed every time.

"Darien, stop it!" screamed the girl between giggles

"I will if you just apologize" yelled the boy

"I'm sorry!" yelled the girl

"I don't hear you!" yelled the boy back

"I'm sorry for throwing you to the lake" said the girl finally completely soaked from head to toe.

"Good!" said the boy, soaked as well. He started to go near her and when he was at arm's length from the girl she splashed him one more time and she started laughing at his shocked expression. For this the boy grabbed the girl from her waist and jumped to the water. Once she was in the water's surface again, the girl started looking for him, but he appeared to have drowned cause he didn't resurface.

"Darien where are you? Come on! This is not funny, where are you? Darien!" screamed the girl, and then she felt something pulling on her foot that was trying to drag her to the bottom of the lake. "DAREIN" she yelled but no one seemed to be around, no one could hear her scream. Then the thing that tried to drag her down stopped pulling and then it surfaced reveling Darien's shape.

"Gotcha!" said Darien

"I'm going to kill you! You scared me to death!" said the girl hitting the boy in his arm

"Auch! That hurts!" complaint the boy

"Good, it was supposed to" said the girl. They swam for a bit until it started to get really dark.

"We should get back or we are going to freeze" said Darien and the girl nodded. Once they were out of the lake the boy help her climb up the hill to the trail back to the camp. He glanced one more time to the lake and could see that the moon was already reflected in the middle. He looked at the sky and sighed.

"What is it?" asked the girl

"Nothing… I just realize how lucky I am"

"Yeah? Why is that?"

"Look at the moon…see how pretty it is?"

"Yes, there is nothing more beautiful than that"

"Actually, there is something more beautiful than the moon"

"What is it?"

"I'm looking at it" said the boy smiling at the girl, she smiled back. The boy then pulled the girl near him into a hug, and then whispered in the girl's ear: "You are the most beautiful girl in the whole world and I promise that I will never stop thinking that" he looked at her eyes, they were sparkling…

"Say it again" said the girl

"Which part?" asked the boy

"Where you tell me that you think I'm pretty"

"I don't think that, I know so"

"Say it again anyway". The boy laughed

"You are the most beautiful girl in the world and I always want to make you smile. In fact, I think…" he lowered his head and gave her a kiss on her cheek, he kept his lips there for a while and then he decided to take a chance. He started to move his lips slowly to her own, he could feel how her small figure shake, maybe it was because she was cold, maybe because she was afraid…he really couldn't be sure. He could also feel how her small heart raise and felt like it went about 1000 miles per hour and it just went faster as he approached her lips. He finally found the edge of her little mouth so he decided to pulled his back just a fraction so he could position them just above hers.

It seemed like an eternity the amount of time they stayed like that. They wouldn't have changed it for anything else. Then, magic happened, Serena's most treasured memory: her first kiss. It was slow and sweet, hesitant and completely cute. It happened so long ago that it was a bit reassuring to know that it really happened and she could see it again, feel it again, even if it was in her dreams.

But for some reason the dream trailed to somewhere very different from that magical memory.

"Yaten, Taiki; have you seen Seiya?" asked the little girl to a couple of boys in sitting in a big dinning room

"We thought we was with you" said Yaten

"He was but he left…he was very upset" said the girl

"I told him that he should have told you" said Taiki shaking his head

"What are you talking about?" asked the girl a bit confused

"Serena, Seiya likes you" said Taiki

"What?!" exclaimed alarmingly the girl

"Come on! He has always liked you. He was hoping that you would like him back" said Yaten

"But I do like him, he has always taken care of me, he is a very good friend" said Serena

"You are so immature" said Yaten

"Why? Because I like him?" demanded the girl

"No, because you also like Darien" said Yaten; she was in complete shock when she heard that, Seiya liked her liked her…but she didn't like him like that…did she?

"Could you honestly say that you like Seiya the way you like Darien?"

"I need to find him!" said the girl and she proceeded to run across the camp's grounds in the search of his friend. She searched and searched but Seiya didn't seem to be anywhere. Not in his cabin, not in the playground, not in the common room, not anywhere. She found him in the Music Auditorium; he was playing the piano, some beautiful tune she couldn't recognize.

"You like me?" asked Serena, she was out of breath, she needed to rest but this was more important

"I don't want to talk to you right now" said Seiya "Please leave me alone"

"I won't, I want to talk to you" said Serena

"You see! Every time is the same, you don't care about what I want, and you always have to do things your way…Yes I like you and you told me that you like him, conversation is over"

"This conversation is not over!"

"Yes it is. He won as usual. When will I realize that he'll always be better than me in everything?"

"Just listen to me, you have been my friend, but most importantly I know how much you look up to him. He is like another brother to you; you love him like a brother"

"I love you Serena!" screamed Seiya "I love you so much…" but Serena could never answer back. In that instant Mrs. Kou appeared at the door asking for Seiya to follow her, it was important and that anything that had to do with Serena could wait.

Next morning Serena found out that not only Seiya but the Kou brothers left the camp and where headed to L.A. to sign on a contract that a record label had offered them. Serena was totally freaking out, she never had the chance to tell Seiya how she really felt about him, how she always would see him as her very best friend, the one that loved to tease her, the one who always looked for an adventure, the one that protected her from bullies, the one that always managed to make her smile, even when she was sad. She not only liked Seiya as a best friend, but she loved him to. But Taiki was right, she didn't love him the way she loved Darien, but at least the love that she felt deserved a good-bye. When Darien found out that the Kous left the camp he understood completely the way Serena felt. After all, he was also competing against a worthy adversary for the little girl's affections; plus he had always cared for the younger of the Kous as a little brother.

"Don't worry, I'll call my parents and they would take us to the airport, maybe we can catch them before they leave" said Darien

"Are you sure, where are your parents?" asked Serena

"They are staying in a chalet nearby; I'll call them" And so he did.

It was less than an hour after when Mr. Shields, Darien's dad, was driving his car down the mountain and heading to the highway for the airport. Darien kept trying to sooth Serena but she was very stressed out.

"I don't get it…Why would they leave like that? I thought that he cared! How can you do something like that if you care?" said Serena

"I don't think he did this to hurt you" said Darien

"Then…why?" asked Serena with tears mounted up in her eyes

"Because he is hurt" said Darien pulling Serena into a hug

"Don't worry sweetheart, you see that everything is going to be alright" said Mrs. Shields, Darien's mom, who occupied the passenger's seat next to her husband's. She was a lovely woman, and very caring. Contrary to her husband, she had long dark hair that reach to her middle back, and had the most beautiful smile Serena could remember.

After a couple of minutes Darien search for Serena's hand to hold and he whispered into her ear:"Don't worry, remember I will always be by your side…forever if I can Serenity" and he looked intently into her eyes…those beautiful, unique, sparkling, lake-like-eyes.

Then it came, fastly, with a speed that was out of this world; that light that hit them, it came so fast that it could almost be forgotten, almost. The scream that came out of Darien's mom registered in Serena's dream, so loud, so high, so desperate, with an incalculable amount of fear and pain; that scream that hunted so many of Serena's dreams waked not only her but a much older boy across town as well; one that lived in a luxurious apartment building in the 22nd floor, one that was desperately searching for some clues or long lost thoughts. At that very moment both Darien and Serena woke up drenched in sweat, hyperventilating, scared from the image they saw in that dream. Only difference was that for Darien the dream little did it meant, for Serena, it meant everything.

* * *

Dear God,

Hi, it's me...Thanks for giving me another year of life, it's been great so far. Now that I'm a year older and wiser and prettier, could you give me one little gift? I know it's rude of me to ask but could you send me a real life version of Darien to be my boyfriend?

Yes? Oh my! Thanks so much!

That you are out of them? Already? Oh well... I kinda so it coming anyway... Could I exchange it for reviews instead?

Yes?

I have to ask for them myself? But it's my birthday!

I know it was yesterday, but still, it's got to count for something... Oh well... Thanks anyway...

* * *

I hope you really liked that chapter. If I have to make excuses for myself, then I have to blame shamelessly college. It's been hell, believe me, and I think it's just going to get worse. But then again, I also have to blame my new proyect: a blog that I'm writing...kind of a diary where I publish my thoughts of the day, it's really funny (really, I can be funny) well, two blogs in fact. One is in English and the other one in Spanish.

Go to my profile to find the link, I promise you will like them.

So, should I really ask for reviews this time or should I just wait for them as a birthday present? (hint)

Thanks every one! Bye! See you soon!


	11. Chapter 11

Hi guys! Thanks for the birthday wishes... I hapenned to had a wonderful b-day... a few days later I even hosted a BQ at my place which was a total hit. We ate, drunk (soda), ate some more burgers and dogs (hot ones), there were sundaes and we also danced a lot and even played wii (ddr, mario kart, sports) I totally ruled in ddr LOL

So thank you, I'll try to keep on delivering good chapters and hope to make this story some justice 'cause I love to write it, so I really hope you are all liking it (wouldn't know...I swear most of you are allergic to reviews)

Special thanks to my reviewers, you guys are awesome!!!! I love you!

And now...with you the chapter (it was originally called Amy's Friendship and then it changed to Annaleigh's true colors but it ended like this) I hope you all like it!!!

* * *

Chapter 11 Sad Sunday and Maniac Monday

'What a strange dream' Darien thought as he started to calm himself down. Suddenly just as he started to pull away from the couch he started to feel a horrible pain hover around his body. It was like the pain he felt after the accident. That excruciating pain was back again, in his arms, in his head, in his body, in his legs, in his heart, in his mind. The sudden feeling of not been able to move his legs hit him a second later so he felt to the floor. Darien started crying in pain, an inexplicably sense of pain that was consuming him to no end. It was worse than he remember it ever been.

"Please make it stop!" Darien cried as he put both his hands around his head. In that moment, the door of his apartment open revealing both his aunt and uncle. His aunt who was opening the door and trying to balance some groceries bags at the same time threw the keys and the bags and let them hit the floor making a mess in the welcome mat. Milk, eggs and yogurt were everywhere, but she didn't care. Silvia Shields flew to his nephew's side and tried to calm him down. She had almost forgotten all about this attacks; this awful pain attacks that Darien had every time he tried to remember his past.

"Sweetheart look at me" said Silvia putting her hands on top of Darien's "Open your eyes Darien" Dairen did as told. "That's right, I'm here for you honey, just take a deep breath and tell me where you are"

Darien took a deep breath but still convulsing in pain "I…don't…know"

"Yes you know Darien. How Am I?" asked Silvia

Darien looked into her eyes and knew this was his aunt, but couldn't find the words. The pain was clouding up his mind.

"Silvia maybe it would be best if we called an ambulance" said Darien's uncle who was worried as hell for his nephew.

"No, he will be fine" said Silvia never leaving Darien's sight. "Darien it doesn't hurt. You are safe here. You are in the house with me and you uncle. Nothing bad is going to happen to you." And it help a little, Darien started breathing more normally after he heard his aunt. The pain was vanishing as well; soon it felt as a normal headache. He sat up slowly now, he tried to pull away his hands from his head but realized that Silvia's didn't let him. "It's alright now" and she kissed his forehead and stood there for a minute or two. "How do you feel now?"

"Better…tiered…and I think I'm going to be sick" said Darien closing his eyes and trying to managed some control over his turned stomach.

"It's ok baby" said Silvia and she hugged him. "You are ok now. Go to the bathroom to wash your face, it always helps"

"Yeah thanks" said Darien who started to stood up from the floor been helped by both his aunt and uncle.

"Do you want anything? Dinner, maybe? Some aspiring? Or maybe waffles? They always make you feel better after"

But then Darien interrupted his uncle by saying: "No its ok. I just want to go to bed. See you guys in the morning. Sorry about the mess"

"Don't worry about that sweetie; just get better" said Silvia with a worried expression on her face.

Darien went to his room, opened the door and didn't even bother turning on the light. He simply stumbled on his bed, or what he was hoping his bed would be. He just wanted to forget everything about that weird dream. That was it, right? Just a weird dream? He really didn't know Serena. There was no way that that was her in the dream. I mean, maybe his mind was playing horrible tricks on him, right? We wanted to search for something and he started dreaming about some stupid camp in God-only-knows-where, where he apparently was friends with this girl. Blonde, petite, bit annoying, kind of a crybaby, with the most cute smile and the most soft lips we had ever felt before, and with the same mesmerizing blue eyes that another certain blonde girl had; another certain blonde girl that without his permission was singlehandedly making his life a living hell. She was destroying his reputation, she was destroying his relationship with his perfect girlfriend and she was, worst of all, making him want to extend the length of his nights so he could think of her even more. God! She looked so good yesterday in the ball. She was a complete vision in that ridiculous short pink dress. She looked ethereal, like a dream come true, like the little girl from his dreams had somehow grown up a couple of years and was waiting for him to take her back to that lake and kiss her for the rest of eternity. (Boy is he in trouble)

"Forever if I can" he said, the phrase leaving his lips without his permission. 'What could that phrase even mean?' That phrase always came to his mind ever since he had seen Serena. Even that day when he fell over her. 'Forever if I can' and he smiled. Weird huh?

Silvia went to her nephew's room and realized that he wasn't asleep yet but was pretending to be so she wouldn't worry. Silly Darien, his aunt knew him better than he thought.

"Try to rest Darien. We would talk in the morning, ok?" said Silvia but Darien didn't answer; he just turned around in his bed from her. He felt so embarrassed, to have had yet another attack. He felt so weak, so helpless, such a pathetic excuse of a man. He hated feeling like that, like a little kid who needed help from his parents. He hated to feel like someone needed to take care of him. He really was grateful for his lovely aunt and his understanding uncle, but he was a man now and he didn't like to feel like a kid; he didn't want to feel the way he felt when he was younger: lost and in pain.

Darien really wanted to find out the truth about his past but he needed to be realistic, this situation with the blonde klutz was bringing him many unwanted problems. Maybe this Serena person used to be a big part of his life, but that was it, _used to be _being the key words.

He couldn't jeopardize anymore what he had with Annaleigh. To be perfectly fair with everyone; she had done so much for him so far… she was a very caring person, she had such a beautiful nature that simply draw people to her. She was lovely and a very good friend. She was everything he could hope for in a friend, or a girlfriend or even a life partner: a wife. Annaleigh had been for him since the beginning of his rehab therapy; she never gave up on him; she never lost hope that Darien could have a normal life without his memories. In fact he thought that it was because of her that he was such a talented student and had achieved so much so far. Also he had made a promise to her, one that he intended to keep.

His word meant everything to him; he didn't remember his past, so he couldn't possibly keep any promises he had made before the accident; even if they were to little Serena, even if he actually deep down in his heart wanted to be with this girl for the rest of his life, even if that dream was something more than a dream.

'It was just a dream after all' Darien thought.

So after several hours of heavy thinking over and over again he decided something very important: The past is the past and nothing good could come of bringing it to the present; he could never be the person he was before; he couldn't live with the burden of those expectations; so it was best to shove all to the back of his mind, to his subconscious where he couldn't bring them back anymore. Annaleigh was his present and possible future if she could forgive him. Annaleigh loved him and he loved her, right? I mean she had been his first kiss (not if you are counting the dream buddy), his first date, his first a lot of things. He loved her…right?

'That's it! No more _what ifs_' He thought as he finally fell asleep.

Silvia was leaning on the kitchen counter waiting for the water kettle to boil so she could prepare herself some tea. Then her husband appeared through the kitchen door with a worried look on his face. She sighed and tried to ignore him so she turned around from his sight.

"We need to get him to a hospital Silvia, we can't just go pretending this isn't something we need to take care of" said her husband as he approach her back and put a hand on her shoulder, which she tried to shake off.

"He is not insane John" said Silvia

"I'm not saying he is…but he needs help…which we can't provide for" Silvia then turned around to face him

"I am everything to that child; do you hear me? I will not take you saying otherwise; I gave your brother my word that Darien will be alright. I gave my word, and he is…it was just an episode…he used to have those all the time" she finished with watery eyes.

"He used to, you said it yourself. Which means that is not normal for him to start having these episodes again" said John trying to put some sense in his wife

"They would go away…they always do…plus how is the doctor going to help anyway? He couldn't five years ago, and probably he is not going to be able to help now"

"Silvia we can't keep lying to ourselves…Darien isn't ok…I think we should think about an MRI"

"You think it's a tumor" Silvia whispered

"I hope not" John said to his wife and caught her from falling to the floor when she started crying. She bent to his shoulder and cried…and prayed for her nephew's health.

"Serena, are you ok?" asked Amy opening the door of Serena's room. Amy had gone upstairs to check on her while the others had a quiet dinner. Before she came to the room she heard Serena's heavy panting and was worried for her. When she opened the door she saw Serena on her bed with her legs pulled so they were touching her chest and she was breathing heavily, trying to stay calm.

"Being better" Serena said trying to give her friend a smile.

Amy came to sit in her bed and sighed "Maybe I can call Mina; I think she is better suited for this"

"What are you talking about?" asked Serena

"I'm not good at this sort of things" said Amy looking at her hands with a sad expression in her face

"Amy…"

"It's ok… I've always being better in logic, math, physics, difficult calculations, strategy…but this…I don't know what to say to you…but still I want to help…please know that I value your friendship. You always light up the mood and even though you are always late and over eat and never get a good grade as Rei said, you are the most wonderful, warmhearted, care loving person that I know. I know that it most feel horrible been in your situation; but at least you have a big family behind you that love you and care for you and friends that will do anything to see you smile"

"Good thing you don't know what to say" Serena said whipping a tear and laughing a little at it. "Amy, you always know what to say. And I treasure your friendship…I was just afraid that maybe you wouldn't want to talk to me after that…"

"Why? Serena I don't know why you think it's your fault" said Amy quietly

"Trust me, it is" whispered Serena

"I know it's not" said Amy reassuringly

"Why? Why do you think it's not…if people knew the true story…they would hate me"

"Because it's you Serena. You are a good person; you deserve good things in your life. It's about time that you see that for yourself. I know that life not always has in store for us what we expect. I know that because I would have had rather for my parents to stay together instead of having a divorce. Now I don't see my father…he just sends gifts and paintings from places he is visiting. I've wished for them to get back together even, so I can have a normal family again, but he is not coming back. I wished for a normal family… and life gave me a family…life gave me you girls: best family in the world"

"Amy…" and the two girls hugged for a while crying a bit. It was true, life not always gives us what we want (if it did God would have sent me a life version of Darien a couple of weeks ago for my birthday) but life definitely gives us what we need, and what we need to learn.

So…if Amy was right Serena was losing her chances at happiness for God-forbid being totally and crazily and utterly in love with Darien, still (good…first step is to admit it).

'I should give Dominic a chance' Serena thought

Monday morning was a bit hectic; the girls had to wake up earlier so that everybody had their chance in the shower. After getting ready they went down stairs where they were received by an exquisite aroma coming from the kitchen. Ikuko made sure to prepare a big feast for everyone. It was a bit of an exotic cuisine demonstration; Ikuko had been going to a Latin American Cuisine workshop where she learned all types of cooking skills and new recipes and she didn't want to waste the opportunity to show them. She prepared "Huevos a la Ranchera"(sunny side up eggs with a spicy tomato sauce on top); some Spanish Chorizo with potatoes and maple glazed syrup; and some freshly baked "Media Lunas" (croissants) with "Dulce de Leche". (Good now I'm hungry)

Teeth and hair brushed, 'Secret Crush' splashed and glossed lips, the girls were on their way to school making a record time for Serena to arrive at school; but she couldn't really complain she was not only arriving early but she had also had a great breakfast.

"Are you sure you are going to be alright?" asked Lita

"Yes, I'm better now" said Serena

"See you at home Meatball Head" yelled Sammy who ran passed the girls from his bike.

"Good… he is mad at me…" said Serena sighing

"How can you tell?" asked Rei

"Whenever he calls me Meatball Head he is mad at me. It's the only time that I let him call me that. Otherwise he knows that I would call him by Elena's pet name for him" said Serena with a smug smile

"Which is?" asked Mina wanting to know if it was something corny like 'sweetie' or 'pumpkin'

"Sorry guys…I am not a vindictive person" she said laughing "Well not always anyway" she said laughing again. The girls laughed with her and smiled, they were also wondering what could have had happened to Serena to make her change so suddenly, Amy smile to herself at the possibility that maybe it was something she said.

They arrived at school and said their goodbyes until they reunite for lunch. Monday morning's were their free study period. There they could meet with different tutors to help them with their homework and help to evacuate questions about different subjects. The girls had other plans for the free period, at least Mina, Lita and Rei had. They were going to the theater to "help" with the costumes and the scenery. In reality Mina just wanted an excuse to go and talk to Scott and Rei, well… she is Rei. Amy had to tutor the advance calculus class and Serena… well…, had to be tutored. Serena was supposed to meet in the library with his new algebra tutor; new as in the last one had given up with her.

Amy was supposed to be helping in a separate classroom since there were many kids who signed up for her tutoring class. Amy saw Serena heading to the library and wanted to catch up with her.

"Serena!" Amy shouted from her spot, Serena noticed her rushing through the hall to catch up with her.

"Hey what's up?" asked Serena

"Sure you are ok?" asked Amy

"Yeah, great actually! I have a great family behind me" said Serena with a sweet smile.

"So tell me, who is your new tutor?" asked Amy to Serena who in exchange looked in her Hello Kitty agenda for the name of the new tutor.

"It's Greg actually!" said Serena

"You are lucky, he is very smart, he will be a great tutor, I couldn't do it better myself" said Amy

"That's humble of you to say Amy" said Annaleigh as she approached the girls

"Thanks…You are too kind" said Amy blushing a bit

"Oh come on, a little vanity never hurt anyone" Annaleigh said elbowing her arm "So, Serena are you feeling any better?"

"Great until now actually" said Serena who was trying to ignore her

"Sorry to hear that, hope that seeing your old friends will cheer you up" said Annaleigh and Serena scolded

"Don't push it Leigh" Serena said through her teeth.

"Oh now don't worry…they'll be busy with clingy fans and won't have time for you anyway. So, Amy good luck with the International Academic Decathlon, today are the announcements. Do you think you'll get in?"

"Oh that's right Amy, they are today! How come you are not nervous at all?" asked Serena

"Oh come on, it's the most prestigious academic competition _in the world_. I don't think I'll be selected amongst all the candidates for Team America" said Amy

"Well don't lose your faith just yet, the announcements will be later this afternoon, but I was in the Headmaster's office earlier and I think I saw an envelope…so…lets cross our fingers ok?" said Annaleigh as she left the girls all cheery and happy and throwing smiles and rainbows to the world.

"God! I swear she is like Two Face sometimes. Maybe she has a bipolar disorder" said Serena speculating about Annaleigh's mental health

"Well…good luck with Greg, Serena. See you at lunch. Bye" said Amy as she waved her hand leaving Serena in the hall that directed her to the library's side door.

Amy was heading to her classroom when she saw Greg in his locker grabbing some books . She then decided to go and tell him the news about who he was going to be tutoring.

She picked out her cell phone and text him.

ALGEBRA?

When Greg heard his message ring tone rang he looked at the text. He smiled and search for a familiar face in the crowed hall until he saw Amy from the distance. He put away his cell and signaled her to come to talk to him. Amy giggled and started heading for him but then she notice something else. About 20 lockers down from Greg's, was Annaleigh's and she was looking at herself in her locker's door mirror. She was fixing her hair and applying some gloss. Darien approached her, he put his hand over her shoulder but her expression didn't change. Luckily for Amy, Annaleigh's locker was very near to an arched open exit to the school's gardens. She decided to hid herself behind a column that supported the arch, this arch was just behind Annaleigh's locker so Amy could hear everything that was said in the other side of the column.

"You came early" Darien pointed

"Had a lot to do in the Headmaster's office" said Annaleigh coldly

"Listen, I think we need to talk" said Darien

"About what exactly? I think we left very little to discuss yesterday. We are done" said Annaleigh. Amy gasped. They were done? As in done for good? Done with their relationship?

"I don't think we are" said Darien.

'Oh shoot! Darien doesn't want to break up! This is horrible for Serena! Wait! Why would Annaleigh would have wanted to break up in the first place' Amy thought

"Oh, you don't? That's funny, I could have sworn you were dying for freedom" said Annaleigh in a sarcastic tone

"Leigh, truth is that I love you. And I don't know…Serena. I don't want to lose you" said Darien

"How romantic the story about Prince Charming and his second choice Princess. I'm so flattered but I think I'll pass" Amy then heard something been pushed to the locker, and then there was a soft moan…

'Oh my God, they are totally making out' thought a very shocked and blushed Amy.

"You have never been my second choice. I love you" said Darien

"You really mean it?" said Annaleigh a bit without breath

"Tell you what; your parents are out of town this week, don't they? Then why don't I come to your house, we could put on Ratatouille for Abby and then we can go upstairs to your room…to talk…and…I don't know…take it from there" said Darien making Amy fan herself with her calculus book drawing herself some attention from some kids that were passing by her.

"My oh my…Mr. Shields, what are you suggesting exactly?" asked Annaleigh in a sexy voice

"Anything that you want" said Darien, Amy couldn't believe her ears. Annaleigh giggled and wondered.

"As much tempting as that proposition sound, I'll have to decline it" said Annaleigh

"Why?" asked Darien

"We have rehearsal today"

"Until 5"

"I'm meeting someone after that"

"You are making that up"

"No I'm not… It's important"

"Who is it? Your agent?"

"No, but has to do with some unfinished business" Darien sighed

"How about tomorrow then?"

"You have detention hall, remember?"

"Uhhh damn it!"

"You have gone, right? Or have you left the hall unattended?"

"Yeah…sure…once… Yes I've gone! Jesus! Have a little faith in me alright!"

"Fine!" said Annaleigh frustrated

"How about …?"

"I'm really busy this week…with things and I have to go and greet the new students…"

"Let me help, I feel like an awful class president as well as a useless boyfriend"

"Oh… don't say that you are not an awful class president…more like tacit I would say"

"Funny" said Darien rolling his eyes

"Ok, help me. Ahh…tell you what, I need some help in the library. A tutor call in sick and I need help"

"Ok, great. Which class?"

"Algebra" said Annaleigh making Amy completely shocked: eye-widen and opened mouth

"Ok, I'll be going then. See you at lunch?"

"You know where to find me" said Annaleigh, Amy was with her open mouth trying to put this weird puzzle together

"You can come now Amy…You wanted to talk to me?" asked Annaleigh. Amy's heart raced, Annaleigh had seen her…what could she say? What could she ask? Amy came slowly from her hiding place and looked at Annaleigh who was still fixing her hair.

"Boyfriends…huh? Always messing with the hair…Don't worry you'll find that out soon enough. Oh by the way, I really don't appreciate people listening to my private conversations. Is that clear?"

"Greg is the tutor of Algebra today… I was wondering if perhaps there's had been a misunderstanding…because I tend to believe the best in people….and maybe I thought that…since Greg is here today" said Amy with all the bravery she could master

"Which reminds me…" said Annaleigh turning away from Amy closing her locker and making her way to 20 lockers down from her, where Greg was…making time so he could talk to Amy. Amy realized quickly where Annaleigh was heading and started running to Greg's locker but her way was inexplicably interrupted by the thicker fluent amount of people who were heading to their classes as the bell rang.

"Greg, hi!" said Annaleigh from a short distance announcing her presence

"Oh hi, Annaleigh! I'm heading now to algebra. Do you need anything?"

"Oh come on, you can call me Leigh and yes…actually I came to tell you that the group was cancelled. It was only a girl and she decided that she didn't need the class"

"Oh, ok then…Thanks for letting me know" said Greg with a smile "Guess I won't have to go to the library, then"

"You are not mad at me, are you?" asked Annaleigh playing with her hair moving her hips a little (only thing missing is the piece of gum and the cheerleader outfit)

"Of course not…you are like the nicest person I know"

"Oh come one, I know you think the nicest person you know is Amy Mizuno…you two make such a cute couple" said Annaleigh giving him a flirty smile which made Greg blush.

"Greg!" said Amy

"Hi Amy! We were just talking about you" said Annaleigh happily

"Leigh come on… stop it. It's nothing Amy" said Greg. Amy was appalled this…her almost boyfriend calling this…this…this…girl by her nickname…and not an ordinary girl…but HER! Oh she will not have her way so easily…not if it was up to her

"Greg is all a lie! Serena is waiting for you in the algebra room" said Amy

Greg looked at Annaleigh a bit confused. 'What's the catch?' he thought

"You caught me there Amy" said Annaleigh biting her lips "I wanted it to be a surprise"

"Mr. Greg Lee, please present yourself in the Headmaster's office right now" sounded a voice from above, which belonged to the Headmaster's assistant

"Leigh?" asked Greg

"The announcements for the Decathlon" said Annaleigh with a smile "I wanted it to be a surprise… but I guess that's not going to possible anymore" said Annaleigh looking quickly at Amy who was having a heart attack

'WHAT?????????????' Amy thought (not heart attack, more like a strock)

"No way!!!!" said Greg as he hugged Annaleigh who just giggled like a four year old "Amy did you heard that?"

"Yes…" managed Amy trying not to show her eyebrow ticking

"Oh, look at that, she can't say anything… She is so happy for you Greg!!" (Oh that manipulative bitch…)

"You deserve it" said Amy

"Oh that's right… it's almost impossible to pick more than one student per school… you were hoping for it, right Amy?" said Annaleigh in a pretend worried face expression

"They picked the right person… I couldn't be happier for you Greg. I told you…when it comes down to you and me it will always be you… You really deserve it" said Amy with watery eyes

"Awwww…you guys are so sweet…I'm so jealous" said Annaleigh making Greg red as a tomato

"Listen, I just didn't want you to feel like you were leaving Serena behind from her lesson… so I arranged for a new tutor for her…I'm sorry" said Annaleigh

"Don't… you are amazing…thank you" said Greg

"Well don't leave the Headmaster waiting…go…get congratulated" Annaleigh gave Greg another hug and he left running to the Headmaster's office.

"You are unbelievable" said Amy

Annaleigh turned to see her, she had water in her eyes "I know…now if you excuse I have some pop stars to go greet…our class president it's a little bit busy right now" Annaleigh left but instead of going to the school's foyer she went to the bathroom. She stared in the mirror and looked disgusted with herself. She opened the faucet and started crying. Amy burst into the bathroom in that minute and made Annaleigh jump. There wasn't anyone else there, classes had already started.

"You think you can hurt her? By driving Darien near her? She is stronger than you think!" said Amy

Annaleigh splashed her face with water to hide her tears. She sighed and started laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked Amy confused

"Amy, Amy, Amy… Sweetie, please be smart and don't underestimate me. Why do you think that I let you know all of this? So you could warn Serena… I'm done playing nice…"

"I don't get it…what could Serena have possible done to deserve this?"

"It's because she hasn't done anything that I'm doing all of this. Your little friend it's blind! And until she decides to use both her heart and eyes again I'm going to keep on doing what I'm doing"

"Why?" asked Amy

"So that everything could go back to the way it used to be"

"You are doing this for Darien?"

"That's how much I care for him"

"Your plan can backfire you know? They can fall in love in those lessons! Or I could just show them this" Amy showed Annaleigh a pen. Annaleigh recognized the pen. It was a souvenir that Mr. Tsukino had given the members of the School's Paper for their participation on a trip. It was a really cool pen; with just a simple click the pen started recording sound and it was transformed into a file that could be downloaded into any pc or mac. (Really cool, huh?)

"A pen? Now I'm scared" said Annaleigh sarcastically "Let me tell you something… I'm playing chess here… and you keep playing checkers. There is no way you can out-maneuver me"

"Really that confident? You are not class president anymore!"

"Not since I realized that the true power comes from above…being the Headmaster's student assistant can be very helpful at times… mostly when you control the class president. I have all the power I could wish for here…and Serena…well she better prepare herself for what's coming…'cause I'm done making it easier for her"

'Click' "Thanks that's all I needed to hear…love to know what the rest of the school thinks when they hear it" said Amy leaving the bathroom and heading to the school's radio station near the School's Paper Office. The pen had an USB port so Amy could easily download the tape and make everyone in school know the real Annaleigh Roberts. She knocked in the radio's station window and a fifth year black haired boy answered.

"Hey Amy!" greeted the boy who was wearing very big glasses which hid most of his face.

"Hi Todd! Is Melvin around?" asked Amy

"No… I think he is in a meeting with the rest of the staff, I'm felling in for him right now" said Todd

"Oh well… can you check this file for me…"said Amy handing him the pen

"What is it?" asked Todd connecting the flash drive to his computer and waiting for the computer to recognized the hard drive

"Hot news!" said Amy and she waited for Todd to search for the file

"Sorry there's nothing there Amy" said Todd

"WHAT!!!!???????" said Amy. 'How could that be?????' she thought

"See…" and Todd showed him his computer screen which let Amy know that there wasn't a file in the flash drive

"Does your pen work?" asked Amy 'Maybe the pen was just a prop, it really didn't do anything but what a normal pen was supposed to do'

"Yes! I don't know…maybe you didn't turned it on?" wondered Todd

"But I did!" said Amy, then out of nowhere Amy felt the presence of someone in her back. It was Annaleigh, she was leaning over the radio station's wall looking at nothing in particular

"You know… Serena's father Kenji saw me once with a pen like that… He said that it was a reporter's dream…a way to get the scoop. They are actually some prototypes that they use sometimes in the studio my father works for sci-fi T.V. shows. Mr. Tsukino told me about the School's Paper going on a trip to The 10th City Journal. He asked me if I could get this for you all as a present for your little trip. I also took them to be engraved…you know give them something extra, and to not confuse them later… I even put in yours Planet Mercury's symbol, 'cause Serena always tells me about your fascination with the planet. They most have had forgotten to put in the battery… I'm so terribly sorry Amy… But don't worry, they use the same kind of battery for watches, so you can used it in no time, but I'm afraid that the report you wanted to post would not have been saved. What is that good the news you were going to post?" asked Annaleigh

"They were unbelievable" said Amy with a smile. Annaleigh approached Amy's ear and whispered "You checkers and me chess" she moved away from her

"Better luck next time" said Annaleigh with a smile as she started leaving, when she felt someone grabbing her arm.

"You are not going to hurt her" said Amy boldly.

"Then beg that Darien doesn't hurt me"

"That's it? Darien stays with you and you don't hurt Serena?"

"I never said that. He just needs to break the promise that he made to me and I'm done"

"What promise?"

"Come on Amy? You can figure this out…or should have I not believed Serena that you had mad skills in logic?"

"Let me guess Darien promised to marry you and live happily ever after? How original!"

"Nice kitty, you are taking your gloves off as well… I love when that happens. And yes… is that original…very PG, you know, for the whole family"

"You are not gonna get away with this. I will never let you hurt Serena"

Annaleigh closed her eyes and sighed.

"Well… I will love to see you try" said Annaleigh as she turned around from Amy "'Cause it will sure as hell make my life easier" Annaleigh took a huge breath and turned to see Amy again

"Here, take it… it's yours" said Annaleigh pulling from her pocket an envelope. Amy couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the gold ink in the parchment, the seal with the burgundy letters adorning the letter; could she have possibly? No she couldn't have gotten in… Greg had… or maybe… maybe

"What is it?" asked Amy

"International Academic Decathlon Announcement. You got in, told you…have a little faith"

"Why did you took it?" asked Amy grabbing her envelope

"To make things work" said Annaleigh "I'm sorry about everything… I could tell you what the Headmaster is telling Greg right now. You will be excused from school from now on until the competition finishes. The school faculty will be always available to your questions… All traveling expenses…the school will be handling all of that" Annaleigh started crying "Mr. Waters and Mrs. Bellini will be accompanying you two…Good luck" Annaleigh whipped her tears, Amy kept looking at her completely confused she didn't get Annaleigh at all, maybe Serena was right, bipolar disorder. "I have to tell you, the last time Team America selected two students from the same school it was Darien and me, but know I have no doubt that they have selected the best students ever. I'm very proud of you. Good luck!" and Annaleigh took a couple of steps away from Amy, but still facing her." I won't report your tardy to Darien, so you won't have detention…this time. By the way… I took the liberty of having deliver to your place the books I used to prepared for the decathlon, I hope they are still of good use"

Annaleigh left Amy alone in the Media Hall and picked her cell phone from her pocket. She hit redial. She started crying…again as she continued walking

"What is it? Where are you?" asked the same man from yesterday

"I'm coming…listen…I need you and your brother to come to my house tonight… we need to talk"

"Are you crying?"

"Just listen to me! There's being a change of plans" she finished and closed her phone. Now she was standing right in front of the school's foyer's door. She took out her pocket mirror and tried to fix her face, applied a last layer of gloss and pulled a hair that was out of order. She took a bid breath and let it out. She opened the door, and she put on her best smile and hailed the new students.

"Welcome to 10th City Academy. I hope you three have the time of your lives here" said Annaleigh greeting the newcomers.

* * *

Well? Did you liked it? Oh...please don't hate me... (not yet)

Promise that next chapter will have a lot of comedy since it will have a lot of Serena and Darien action...he is the new tutor after all. Will they kill themselves or will the sparks fly instantly? Well, if you want to find out please review!!!!just a suggestion...like always.... ^^!!!!


	12. Chapter 12

Hi guys!

So I have good news and bad news. I'll start with the good ones... I did well on my Trade Marketing exam...I didn't got a perfect score but who the hell cares? I passed! :)

on the bad news... I'm really in a not so great place right now...my stupid high school reunion is next Saturday and I'm just really scared to death...don't ask me why...I'm just am...and also I'm really mad at my mom right now...but honestly who has time to write about their mom issues and I'm really just angry and mad and frustrated and so incredibly sad about my little beautifull dog named Joy who passed away last Thrusday... she had been with for the past eight years and it really saddens me to think about it...and I'm not super right now...

I'm actually glad that I finished this chapter now...because if I had written it on some other time when my feelings were about to explote I might just have like...Diamond marring Serena and make her completly miserable and Annaleigh laughing at the whole thing while drinking a Margarita and kissing Darien at the same time...or I would just have killed everyone and moped around for the rest of the year like the loser I'm trying not to be...

But well...then again...I do love this story and I made the promise of making it worth for you all to read...so hear it is a chapter that I really like...for a change it does have a lighter mood...

* * *

Chapter 12 The Tutor and The Tudor

While Amy and Annaleigh were busy having their cat fight Serena headed to the library, to the cubicle that was destined to her new algebra tutoring.

She entered the library by the back door so she was now in between thousands of book shelves. She heard someone call her name somewhere in between the American and the British Authors shelf, so she turned around to see who it was.

"Dominic! What are you doing here?" asked Serena

"I was looking for Moby Dick, mine has mysteriously left my guard and we have a quiz on Friday" said Dominic brushing his hair

"Oh, yes that's right…on Friday. Thanks for reminding me" said Serena as she tried to walk away

"Hey, I called yesterday. Your mom said that you weren't feeling alright. Are you better now?" he asked and his question reminded Serena that she was determined to give him a chance, so she could finally get over Darien Shields.

"I'm sorry that I didn't answer. I was…just…umm…not…umm...but I'm better and I umm…wanted to thank your dad for giving me a lift…I'm like so thankful and I wanted to thank him…and you for…you know the whole lifting thing and stuff and the calling and the worrying and just like…really thanks so much for Saturday. I really appreciated it" said Serena rushing through the words as they left her mouth.

"My…pleasure…I guess. Umm, look, I'm sorry that we didn't have a better time on Saturday, I guess that it wasn't your ideal date…it blew actually" this made Serena giggle, at least they were being honest about the fact that Saturday sucked "I want to make it up to you. I was thinking that maybe we could go out sometime. You know… like Friday?"

"Friday night?" Serena asked

"Yeah… there's this party that the soccer team is organizing and it will be at the Crown and it's going to be fun. It's a pep rally actually" said Dominic with a hopeful smile on his face. Now here was a bit of a teensy tiny little problem: Darien would be there, and also would Annaleigh and of course it was expected that the whole cheerleading squad would be there as well. Serena didn't know why but those girls weren't nice at all to her ever since she started to talk to Dominic a few months ago, they weren't nice to Mina either.

"I don't know about that… Friday… I have rehearsal…and…well I really don't know any of your friends" said Serena in hopes that Dominic would take the hint and realized that Friday night Serena will try with all her might to stay away from The Crown.

"Come on, it will be fun, it will gives us a chance to talk" said Dominic. (At a party? Is he kidding me? You don't talk at parties! You can only listen to the damn music at parties He was just shamelessly looking for an opportunity to make out)

"I really don't know" said Serena taking a step back and crashing against a bookshelf. Dominic took this opportunity to reach out to her and place a hand in her shoulder and another one in the shelf, making little room for her escape.

"Come on… I think we could have a lot of fun" said Dominic

'What the hell is he trying to do here? I mean the guy is gorgeous… I know, he has a perfect body and all, I normally I really wouldn't mind being in this position but… what...what was I thinking again?' Serena thought

"I thought I asked you to take this slow" said Serena closing her eyes and tried to think straight

"Believe me…I'm trying…but this is your fault" said Dominic whispering in her ear

"Why is it my fault?!" Serena said angrily

"Well…you are way too pretty and cute and just unbelievably naïve for your own good" said Dominic with a smirk as he tried to kiss Serena on the lips. Her heart started to race.

'Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God' thought Serena (Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God)

And just then as he pressed harder the shelf where he'd put his arm, a book that was just in the edge fell into Dominic's head.

"AUCH!" he yelled as Moby Dick fell to the floor

"Shooooosssssshhhhhh" they heard a few students uttered

"Good…you found your book. I need to go…now…to do that thing…at that place" said Serena as she left Dominic with the sound of the bell signaling to the students that classes just started.

"So are up for the party then?" asked Dominic (can't you take a hint)

"I'll let you know, ok?" said Serena as she left the Literature Section. She shuddered.

'Ass' she thought as she left the book collections and headed to the stairs and walk through the door to the Algebra designated room. She threw her stuff in the table. She was very mad…

Stupid Dominic, can't you get a girl's heart. I mean… us girls don't like to get pushed like that when we are still confused about so many different feelings.

"Maybe this is not a good idea after all" she said out loud

She searched for her pink nano inside her bag, put the earphones on and hit the shuffle songs tab. Then 'Tainted Love' started playing.

'How convenient' she thought and then started to sing along with the song

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Darien had just finished talking to Annaleigh when he started heading to the library. He rushed a little so he wouldn't be that late. He was disposed to show Annaleigh that she could trust him, so he decided to make his best in teaching this girl everything there was to know about Algebra. In no time she would be acing every single one of her exams.

As he reached the Algebra he heard someone singing…she wasn't bad at all…

He opened the door and was completely paralyzed as he saw the image in front of him. A petite blond girl turned around from him doing some sexy moves that she had clearly tried to copy from a Pussycat Dolls video…but did them even more gracefully. She was swaying her hips and moving her shoulders, she was tossing her hair from side to side and singed along with the song completely unaware that she had an audience

"…once I ran to you

now I'll run from you

this tainted love you've given

I give you all a girl could give you

take my tears and that's not nearly all"

Darien could stop his urge to chuckle at the irony of the lyrics.

'How convenient' he thought "She has got to be freaking kidding me" said Darien thinking of Annaleigh. 'So is this is how she wants to play' he thought. Annaleigh clearly wanted to test Darien…to see if he was going to be true to his promises. 'She'll see…' he thought as he continued to watch Serena sing and dance. Suddenly in the line where she was singing "You don't wanted it any more from me" she started to turn around and froze at the sight of Darien Shields in his all might and glory, in the flesh and bone staring at her and smiling.

"What's so funny?" she asked rudely

"The Pussycat dolls?" asked Darien

"Gloria Jones" she barked back

"Sorry, I assumed that you thought that the Pussycat dolls sang the original. My mistake" said Darien as he approached the table and sat in the sit next to her stuff.

"I'm sorry, but as you can see this room is taken. Would you be so kind to go and annoy people somewhere else?" said Serena and as she was putting pause on her ipod the song 'Hopelessly in love with you' started playing. As she registered the song in her head she immediately turned to her ipod and really hit pause this time.

"Damn you Olivia Newton John" whispered Serena and Darien chuckled

"I'm your new tutor" said Darien

"No you are not" said Serena pulling her earphones off

"Yes…I am" said Darien slowly

"No your are not. The memo said it was Greg Lee. Are you Greg Lee? No, you are not Greg Lee. Why would you be Greg Lee if you are not Greg Lee?" said Serena angrily and fastly

"He called in sick today" said Darien calmly but enjoying every second of his teasing, it somehow felt familiar

"…No he did not" said Serena, knowing how stupid she must be sounding

"Yes…he did. Now, let's begin already shall we?" said Darien

"Listen, I was going to say to Greg that I really didn't need the class. I'm perfectly able to find exes on my own" said Serena putting a hand on her hip

"Yeah? To easy for you?" said Darien as he showed Serena the quiz in which she got a 30 last week. She stupidly took it out with her ipod and didn't mind to put it back in her bag.

"Give me that, it's mine!" she yelled and tried to take it from Darien's hands

"Let me ask you something; are you really that stupid or just plain lazy?" said Darien as he scan the quiz again, standing up and pulling it up way high in the sky where Serena couldn't reach"

"Just give it back already!!!!!" yelled Serena as she jumped to grab her quiz but in the attempt she finished in the ground with Darien on top of her…again.

They stared at each other's eyes for what seemed an eternity. Darien then, unconsciously, started to remember bits of things that he assumed where before the accident…a lake, a girl, a kiss, the moon, the car, his parents, the bright light, the crash, the scream, the pain. The pain…the pain… the pain was coming back. He moved away from Serena quickly but the movement made the pain even worse. He backed away from Serena until his back crashed with the wall. Serena was dead scared, she remembered the only time he saw him having a pain attack, the only time she visited him after she was released from the hospital until she came to the decision of leaving Darien to heal on his own. She couldn't take him having so much pain, because of her. This was her fault. She then did what Darien's aunt had done that very same day.

"Are you ok? Just listen to my voice, you are fine, you are not alone, I'm here with you" said Serena reaching to Darien, lifting herself in her tip toes so she could reach with her hands Darien's head.

'Why does she know what to do?' Darien thought in between all the images that were running in his head. It really didn't hurt as bad as it did yesterday, but it was still uncomfortable. He stared right through her eyes; there was no doubt about it now, Darien knew her. He breathed in and out a few times until he didn't felt the pain anymore, but he was angry now. He took Serena's hands and pushed them off of him. Serena was taken aback from that reaction so she backed away from him.

"I'm sorry" she said

"Why do you know what to do?" he asked

"I….I… I don't know…it was out of impulse I guess" she said

"Don't lie to me"

"What?"

"You clearly haven't lied enough to be any good at it" he said stepping closer to her "Why do you know what to do?" he pressed again but all he got out of her where undecipherable utters.

"Never mind" he said as he turned around from her and took his seat back she just put a hand on her heart attempting to stop it from leaving her body.

"We really should begin with this" he said but Serena had other plans. She took her bag and her books and things and started to run to the door. Everything fell to the floor as she was opening the door (of course) she quickly gathered her things before Darien made it to her side and helped her. She stepped outside the room but then Darien grabbed her arm.

"What do you think you are playing at?" he said angrily "You better get back to that room or"

"Or? Are you threatening me?" Serena yelled, Darien closed his eyes so he wouldn't yelled back at her.

"Whatever…see you tomorrow in the afternoon" he said leaving her side.

"Why?" she asked

"Detention Serena…I'm sure you are breaking some kind of stupid rule, don't worry I won't be specific in my report"

"You can't give me detention!" she yelled

"Oh…but I just did. See you tomorrow…3pm sharp…or then you will just be keep on getting detention…with me"

"Urrgggg I hate you" she yelled

"Whatever!" he yelled back

"Shooooooooooooooossssssshhhhhhh" they heard and with that they both left in different directions.

The minute Serena put a foot outside the library, the minute she heard someone calling her…well sort of.

"Muffin there you are" she just turned and saw Seiya walking to her.

"Oh come on!" she yelled angrily to the skies

"What's with the complaint" Seiya asked "Here, let me help you with those"

"I can very well carry my own books, and stop calling me that!"

"Why? Or do you rather me calling you Meatball Head?" asked Seiya lifting his eyebrows to which Serena responded by kicking him on his leg.

"Auuuuccch! Why the hell did you do that for?"

"Why the hell did you call me that for?" responded Serena

"I guess you haven't changed that much, have you?" asked Seiya with a smile

"Do me a favor, forget that you even know me…what you did is unforgivable…I will never…" she Serena tried to say

"I know that leaving without a good-bye wasn't the best move I've ever made, but please Serena…"

But Serena interrupted him "Don't, I don't want to hear it. You broke my heart Seiya!"

"Well…you broke mine first"

"Grow up already" she started leaving but then decided to come back and yelled at him some more (she did needed to let some of her anger out) "Oh, by the way, your best friend has amnesia…thanks so much for calling and finding that out, you selfish almost average garage singer"

"You could have perfectly ringed me to tell me, you Meatball Head! So I don't have to find out from your brother. Thanks for telling me by the way"

"Thanks for telling me that you were moving to L.A. and were going to sign a contract and be famous and have tours and wouldn't see me ever again"

"Well thanks for letting me know that you were in love with Darien"

"I never thought it was any of your business" said Serena

"Well it was and still is"

"Why? What exactly are you to me? Nothing! That's exactly right! We stopped being anything the minute you didn't say good-bye"

"You have to let that go! I said I was sorry!"

"Oh no! You haven't even heard half of it. I hate you and I don't want to ever see you again"

"Well, I'm sorry but I'm in your class…yes every single one of them" said Seiya fuming a little bit. Serena was just shaking her head from side to side.

"Where is she?" asked Serena with her eyes closed from all her anger

"Who?" asked Seiya confused.

"That crazy, manic, obsessive-compulsive, narcissistic, power driven bitch! Where the hell is she?!" Serena yelled

"Someone called me?" said Annaleigh who had Yaten and Taiki on each side of her.

"What are you trying to do to me, because I'm perfectly aware that you arranged the thing with Darien in the library" said Serena letting a tear drop

"Why? Have you had enough yet?" asked Annaleigh

"Yes" said Serena

"That's too bad, because this is just the beginning" said Annaleigh

"Hi Serena" said Taiki and Yaten at the same time.

"Oh and just so you know I didn't want him to have the same schedule as you…he begged like for an hour to the Admissions Secretary…he kind of has his way with the ladies, but if he checks again in his schedule he will find out that he has the one of class 2-1 while Serena has the one of class 2-4" said Annaleigh

"What?" asked Seiya looking again in his schedule.

"Yes…I'm terribly sorry about that Seiya, seems that when Lily asked me which class Serena Tsukino was in, she is the Admissions Secretary by the way, I must have confused her class with the one of another person's" Seiya simply looked at his schedule…he really wanted to be near Serena so he could make peace with her quickly, she had never stayed mad at him for long and so he could easily make her fall in love with him, at least that was his plan, but it kind of interfered with Annaleigh's; and she couldn't allow that. "I'm really sorry; let me buy you a cookie for my mistake"

"What?" Seiya frowned his eyes and looked at her

"Well…they are very good cookies…they are like this big, gigantic cookies that are half chocolate and half vanilla. Believe me you will love the cookies" said Annaleigh with a smile trying to look innocent

"I don't care about the cookies" said Seiya

"Well…that's because you haven't tried them"

"I want one" said Taiki

"Me too" said Yaten

"Urggg, I don't care about the stupid cookies!" yelled Seiya

"…We also have chocolate chip if you prefer" said Annaleigh

"Listen, I don't want cookies, I want you to explain to me why did you change my schedule"

"I told you…it was an honest mistake…all of us are allowed to have a blonde day from time to time… Aren't I right Serena?"

"You expect me to buy that?" said Seiya before Serena could yelled at Annaleigh

"Yes…and to enjoy the cookie…or your other option is what exactly? To think that you know something that isn't really important and you have no way to prove it? No…if I were you I will enjoy the cookie…they are really good. Now let's continue with our tour…lots to see" Annaleigh then approached Serena's ear and whispered "You'll thank me later" and gave her a wink. "Come on now boys" and the three of them left with Annaleigh guiding them through the rest of the school, including a very pissed off Seiya. He really wanted to kill the beautiful brunette.

*************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Soon enough came lunch and Serena couldn't keep on avoiding her friends. She decided to go to her usual tree and sat and blend in with the conversation. Luckily for her the topic of The Tree Lights studying in the Academy was the newest piece of gossip.

"Serena, can I talk to you for a second?" asked Amy arriving to the tree

"Sure Ames" said Serena standing up and going towards her friend

"How were your classes?" Amy asked before telling her everything she knew

"I didn't…the tutor…I mean Greg never came" said Serena

"Yeah, he was selected…for the Decathlon" said Amy

"Are you ok with it?" asked Serena

"I was also selected" said Amy with a small smile in her face. Amy was expecting a loud cheer from behave Serena but she just hugged Amy for what seemed an eternity.

"I'm so proud of you!" said Serena shedding a couple of tears.

"Serena, what's wrong?" asked a very worried Amy

"Nothing…nothing is wrong. Oh my God…I can't believe that you got in! I'm soooooo happy for you" said Serena starting the cheering that had been expected from her at first

"Thanks but you can't tell anyone yet, ok?"

"Mum's the word" said Serena sealing her lips

"I have something to tell you" said Amy a bit more seriously

"I'm not going to like this, am I?"

"No… I just think that you should be very careful with Annaleigh from now on" said Amy

"I know…don't worry about me" said Serena

"No…just listen…Sammy was right…you have to be very careful with her, she might end up hurting you" said Amy

"I know…I am…don't worry so much about me Ames…I'm fine"

"No…just…earlier today…she pulled out this thing with Greg and Darien…"

"I know…Darien is…kind of my new Algebra tutor…"

"I thought you said that he didn't came…I mean that Greg didn't came"

"Well he didn't and Darien is my new tutor it's just that ...I kind of left"

"What are you not telling me? Please just talk to me, I can help"

"Hey, yesterday you weren't even sure what to tell me… is just not that easy talking about this stuff…"

"Don't get mad! I just don't want to see Annaleigh hurt you" said Amy, which was fine but that made Serena realized something…she usually talked about things…difficult things with Annaleigh.

"I'm sorry…you are right…it's..it's..it's…fine" said Serena and then she left Amy's side and started to walk away making her way to find Annaleigh.

"Where did Serena go to?" asked Rei to Amy

"I'm not sure" said Amy with her same worried expression

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Annaleigh was in the roof sitting in the bench writing something in a piece of paper. She was quite inspired 'cause she barely paused to think what she wanted to write next. Then a figure came behind her. It was Darien, he bent down to her neck and kissed it softly and then he extended one of his arms so his hand could touch her leg. He started to run his hand slowly until it reached the bottom of her uniform skirt. He kissed her neck again as she closed her eyes and arched her back a little giving into the kiss and letting her head hit the back of the bench.

"What are you writing?" asked Darien into her ear

"Your speech for today" said Annaleigh

"Aren't you the best girlfriend ever?" said Darien as he gave her a kiss on the lips. Annaleigh opened her eyes.

"But also a terrible person" she said

"That I have to agree on…You have to stop…for your own good Leigh" said Darien sitting down next to her and graving the piece of paper that contained the speech.

"What exactly is it that you want to achieve with all of this?" asked Darien as he started reading

"I just want for you to be happy" said Annaleigh looking towards the school garden, looking straight into Serena who was now getting up to talk to Amy Mizuno.

"I am happy" said Darien never leaving his sight from the paper

"As happy as you once were" said Annaleigh and Darien sighed

"You want me to be with Serena Tsukino?" asked Darien as he turned his head to see his current girlfriend

"Yes" said Annaleigh

"How long have you being planning this?"

"It doesn't really matter" she said

"Please tell me" Darien pressed

"The day I met The Three Lights" Annaleigh answered

"Those are the new students that played at the party?"

"Yes"

"Do I know them?"

"No…but you used to" said Annaleigh finally turning to see Darien

"What did they tell you?"

"That you were a great guy…very smart…and that you were best friends with the youngest"

"What else?"

"Serena should tell you the rest" said Annaleigh and Darien sighed again

"Annaleigh did I ever had a relationship with that girl?" asked Darien while he took Annaleigh hand

"Yes" and she turned her sight from him again

"I want to ask you something" said Annaleigh "Do you think that we could have had fallen in love if the accident never had happened"

"No" he answered "I think I really loved that girl…but we are never going to know what could have happened, are we?"

"I guess not" Annaleigh said

"I want us to have another chance" said Darien

"I don't think that's a good idea" she said

"Why not?" asked Darien with water in his eyes

"Because you will never love me the way you loved her" Annaleigh said "It has taken me forever to figure it out, to accept it…"

"You are right…I probably will never love you the way I loved her… but now that I know all of that for sure… I just want to be with you…for whatever little time that I have…if it's a day…a year…a decade…a century…I want to be with you"

"Don't make promises that you are not going to keep" said Annaleigh

"Then I won't make any promises, just the one about Abby then" and Annaleigh chuckled. "Be with me…stay with me" said Darien "Please" and Annaleigh looked into his eyes and saw that impossibly perfect shade of blue and decided right then what she wanted to do, not what she should.

"Do you mean it?" she asked

"Yes" and then they both stood up

"Ok…lets give this another try" she said with her more genuine bright smile and he took her by the waist, he lift her and gave her a kiss. The minute he touched Annaleigh's lips he started to have a flashback…first one he ever had, about the kiss with the girl in the lake. Darien broke the kiss earlier than he had planned and put carefully Annaleigh back to the floor.

"Are you ok?" she asked

"Yes…just got…light headed… I better go…get prepared for the speech"

"You sure you are ok?" asked Annaleigh as Darien walk to the door, but in that second the door was being opened by no other than Serena herself, in the flesh and bone, in all her might and glory.

"Serena…" said Darien as he walked right by her

"Darien…" said Serena as she walked right by him

As soon as the door closed the bell rang and Annaleigh started to speak

"You really should hurry or you are going to be late"

"I'm always late, anyways"

"Why did you came here…can't you see that I'm mad at you?"

"Why are you so mad at me?"

"Just because"

"Fine…be like that…I don't care…but I came here because I need to talk to someone"

"You have other friends Serena…pick one out and talk to him or her"

"I want to talk to you"

"Fine…you have a minute and your minute started 30 seconds ago"

"One of my friends is mad at me and I don't know why, my childhood crush is in love with that friend and I want to be happy for her but that just seems to annoy her even more, three of my childhood friends came back from out of nowhere, when they didn't even say good-bye to begin with and one of them claims to love me and the other two I'm pretty sure they hate me to my guts, my friends now know about a part of my past and oh what else… oh yeah…I think Darien is having pain attacks again"

"Are you sure…about the attacks?"

"I'm pretty sure"

"I was wondering what made you leave tutoring so quickly"

"Well, your boyfriend is a freak" Annaleigh sighed

"I just thought that maybe the two of you could…"

"What? Be happy together? Please…that boat left so long ago…I think it's in Fiji right now"

"Well it might come back…and you are missing that chance"

"I just…I don't love him…anymore"

"Serena…please don't insult me by lying so poorly"

"Well…I am talking to the person who has perfected the craft"

"Thanks…I'm going to take that as a compliment" and Serena rolled her eyes

"Whatever…I just want you, my friend back…I'm raising the white flag"

"You are just saying that because you are losing…and you are going to keep on losing"

"Annaleigh, fighting against you is exhausting and I honestly don't have time for this right now"

"Do you see me caring?"

"Actually I do…or you would have let Seiya be on my class when you know that I can't stand the sight of him right now"

"How do you know that that wasn't part of my plan?"

"Because as much cruel and mean you are been right now…if there is one thing that you have is cleverness and you can predict someone's tenth move when the chess match haven't even begun…if you really wanted to torture me you would have put Seiya in my class…I want to make things right"

"You can't"

"Annaleigh please, what do you want me to do?"

"I want you to admit that you love Darien"

"No…I don't love him"

"I don't believe you"

"Well believe it…because I have something to tell you"

"Yeah…what is it?"

"The reason I felt so guilty about the accident is that I wanted to go to the airport to confess Seiya that I loved him…I felt guilty because of that" (OMG, OMG, OMFG!!!!!!!! What the hell?!!!)

"Is that the truth?" Annaleigh asked even though she knew it was all a lie

"Yes" Serena said not thinking twice

"Are you lying to me?"

"No…that's the truth"

"Then why don't you want to be with Seiya now?"

"He left me…it's not the same anymore…Are we ok now?" asked Serena knowing that her little confession might change the whole course of her relationship with Annaleigh from now on; that was exactly what Serena needed to do…try and make things right…again…she would stay away from Darien.

"I guess"

"Good…then I'll leave you to your knitting"

"Serena…"

"What?"

"You are getting better at lying" said Annaleigh with a smile, she really knew Serena very well; if she was so desperate to make things right…then she will begin another game, another plan.

"I'll take that as a compliment" (so does that means what I think it means?)

And with that Serena left Annaleigh alone.

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

The rest of the day was quite uneventful if you don't count the whole girl population of the school screaming at Seiya, Taiki and Yaten Kou. The legion of fans couldn't believe that it was actually them who were playing two nights before. But as you know me…good and uneventful things never last.

Rehearsal came sooner than Serena would have had hoped for.

"Serena can I talk to you for a minute?" asked Darien grabbing her arm the second she walked through the Theater door.

"Ummm…sure" she said as was having a déjà vu from the time Darien took her to the stage to be publically humiliated…hided as a bad rehearsed scene. Darien took Serena backstage and turned to look at her right in the eye.

"I have the power to give you a free-from-detention pass for the rest of the year" Serena almost jumped from the joy of the news but then Darien added "Just with one condition"

"What?" Serena asked

"You have to let me tutor you"

"I knew that it was too good to be truth" said Serena pouting "Why do you want to tutor me to begin with?" she asked knowing that the tutoring couldn't possibly be a good idea if she wanted to stay away from him…staying away had worked in the past.

"Because I know that if you paid attention during class to begin with you would be a bright student" said Darien with a smile

"Are you making fun of me?"

"No…if I were making fun of you I will start with your hair style…what are they? Meatballs?"

"What did you just say?" (He remembered????????)

"Nothing…don't get mad… they just look like meatballs" he said as he padded her head (another déjà vu for her)

"Well…fine…you can tutor me" said Serena still feeling weird about her déjà vu's… and the fact that she just agreed to something she had been trying to avoid.

"Ok…it's settle then…see you tomorrow" said Darien leaving her side

"Hey, wait…tomorrow we don't have free period!"

"That's right…then…see you tomorrow at the detention hall" said Darien with a smirk

"Hey that's not fair Darien!" Serena yelled

"See you tomorrow Meatball Head" said Darien back at her

'Oh great…now he too…stupid non-functioning amnesia' Serena thought

During the rehearsal the professors started discussing with the students to incorporate a music piece. They wanted the feeling of a real ball during the play so they decided to talk with both the music and the dance professors who were going to provide the music and the choreography for the dance.

Around 4pm Mr. Lambert asked Annaleigh and Darien to take the stage to rehearse the scene where they were supposed to meet. It was during the ball, "an engagement ball" nonetheless that Prince Endymion and Duchess Victorya met and during this ball, during their dance Duchess Victorya warned the prince that there was a conspiracy to kill him.

"So Annaleigh you just bow when you meet the prince and right then Darien you see how beautiful the duchess is and you immediately take her to dance. Are we clear?"

"Yep" said Annaleigh

"As water" said Darien

"Darien don't be cute" said Mrs. Lambert as she went to the radio and turned it on a random station, the music was low so she didn't changed it.

"Your highness" said Annaleigh as Duchess Victorya and she vowed

"My lady" and Darien took her hand and kissed it "I have to say that when Monsieur Le'Clerk said that you were the most beautiful woman he had ever seen I wasn't expecting the most beautiful woman I had ever seen"

"Please your Highness, you must be exaggerating the meaning of your noble words"

"Believe when I tell you Duchess that I do not tend to decorate my adjectives for anyone. You are…beautiful…please let me have this dance"

"Good kids now walk to the center of the stage and bow to each other again" instructed Mr. Lambert as a new song started. Somehow Darien knew immediately which song it was…he kind of heard it already once this day.

"Your Majesty, may I warn you about two things while we are dancing?" said Annaleigh

"You may, Duchess" said Darien

"I am not accustomed with this particular dance, you will have to forgive my clumsiness" said Annaleigh

"That won't be a problem Duchess"

"Please call me Victorya…after all we are meant to be married tomorrow, it will be best if we began to get acquainted with each other if it is ok with your Majesty"

"Then I must insist that the Duchess starts calling me by my name also"

"As you wish…Endymion"

"Fine Darien take her hand as if you were about to begin a viannemisse waltz" said Mr. Ambrossio, the dance teacher. Darien did as instructed but unfortunately for him it gave him enough time to concentrate on the lyrics of the song.

But now there's nowhere to hide,  
since you pushed my love aside I'm not in my head,  
hopelessly devoted to you

Darien started to laugh a little bit and Annaleigh just kept squeezing his hand to make him shut up because he was making her loose her concentration also.

"Darien…what the hell?" she whispered

"Damn you Olivia Newton John" he said and with that he lost it…he was laughing so hard…it was kind of contagious actually.

When Serena put attention to the song she understood why Darien was laughing…it was just all very ironic…very funny actually and she couldn't help but laugh as well.

"Everybody quiet!" said Mrs. Lambert "Quiet I said!" she repeated but that just made the whole audience laugh with Annaleigh, Darien and Serena

"I will not have happiness, joyfulness or laughter in my Theater" said Mr. Lambert but that remark just made the laughter even worse.

"Serena what's so funny?" asked Mina to her friend

"I have absolutely no idea" she said and continued to laugh. It felt good, to laugh so hard as if they didn't have a care in the world…it made a nice change, for the three of them. It felt good, and that feeling made them think that maybe, just maybe, everything in their lives would be alright. It felt good to laugh.

* * *

Well... enough of the bad attitute...I had also been pointed out that it is something I need to change so I will try...

funnier things ahead...a lot of Serena and Darien...umm...and well just more drama I guess.

You know you love me.... please review?


	13. Chapter 13

Wanna know something funny? I never made it to my high school reunion...so I guess I worried for nothing. Word is that the party was awesome...but people say that about every single party they attend, that way they can feel cool and awesome themselves...but even funnier is that the world didn't colapse because of my absense so I guess everything is alright.

Ok, chapter 13...just a warning...people might want to kill me after this...so I apologise. In my defense people that know me know that I'm a hard to kill fan of DarienxSerena so... indulge me here...ok...it will get better...I promise...maybe not in the next chapter...nor the next two but someday it will defenitely get better.

In other shocking news: I don't own Sailor Moon, nor any of the tracks that have been played in the story.

* * *

Chapter 13 Plan B: Let it be

It was around 7 pm of that same Maniac Monday that the bell of the front door of the Roberts Residence rang. Heidi, the German housekeeper of the Roberts Residence opened the door and let in the two young men that were standing right there. She took their coats and led them to the family room where Annaleigh was watching a "tivoed" episode of Dancing with the Stars. Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke were dancing the Argentine Tango. This was Annaleigh's version of research, since it was expected of her to dance, a waltz with her co-star, in this case the boy of her dreams.

Her little sister Abby was sitting with her in the large cream couch eating some home-made cookies with cream cheese and drinking a glass of milk. Annaleigh was patting her head which was covered with a purple scarf. Abby didn't like wearing the scarf, but since it was still winter the nights were very chilly and she didn't like the feeling of the cold and crisp air in her shaved head anymore than she liked to wear the scarf. Luckily for her, her hair was growing back, and she wouldn't have to wear the scarf again. Summer will be here soon and she would put her illness and all of her scarves behind.

"You know that he didn't win, right?" said a male voice from behind the couch. This voice made Annaleigh and Abby turn around and face the two men that were standing in the living room. They weren't wearing their school uniforms; both were wearing a pair of jeans, a white bottom down shirt, the taller of the men was wearing an open brown sweater and the shorter was wearing a gray one. Once Abby saw them she was screaming from the top of her lungs.

"Oh my God! You did came I can't believe it!" screamed Abby jumping from the couch and running to hug the visitors.

"Of course we came! We had to visit our biggest fan" said the taller man.

"Otherwise your sister would have killed us" said the shorter causing to crack a giggle from the little girl.

"We brought you this" said the taller showing Abby a poster of The Three Lights sign by Seiya, Taiki and Yaten Kou.

"I'll guard it with my life" said Abby giving the brothers a hug. Then the taller man patted her head.

"Sweetie, why don't you go hang the poster on your bedroom and bring Taiki and Yaten some of the cookies you made for them" said Annaleigh still sitting in the couch.

"Ok, it will just take me a sec. Please don't go anywhere" said Abby running to her room with the poster on her hands.

"She is looking a lot better" said Taiki

"Thank God she is" said Annaleigh standing up "Thanks for bringing her the poster, you really didn't need to"

"Our pleasure, Leigh. She is a great kid" said Yaten

"So…what's this change of plans you mentioned over the phone?" said Taiki

"Yeah…about that… we are moving to Plan B" said Annaleigh

"I didn't know there even was a Plan B" said Yaten

"Oh yeah…there is always a plan b" said Annaleigh

"Which is?" asked Taiki

"To cancel Plan A" said Annaleigh

"What?" asked with disbelief both brothers at the same time.

"Yeah, I just decided that it will be best for everyone to just drop this. Darien and Serena are not getting back together, so we are dropping this" said Annaleigh

"Says who?" asked Yaten

"Me" said Annaleigh

"I won't agree to this" said Yaten

"Oh I'm sorry, did I not made myself clear or you by any chance misunderstood this by a democracy? What I say goes. It's that simple" said Annaleigh staring at the brothers with her arms crossed over her chest.

"We were under the impression that you already understood that for Darien you will forever be the worst-would-be-nothing girlfriend" said Taiki

"It just so happens that he told me today that he wanted to be with me. He knows that once upon a time he had something with her and still picked me" said Annaleigh

"And you believed him?" asked Yaten

"Yes, he wants to be with me" said Annaleigh

"How convenient for you! And we actually believe that you wanted to make them fall in love" said Taiki.

"You are one to talk, aren't you? Weren't you two the ones that deliberately neglected to tell me that your baby brother was his best friend and the he so happened to have a huge crush on Serena? Talk about convenience!" said Annaleigh

"Luckily for us you are a paranoid bitch that saw it coming just in time" said Yaten

"In our defense Seiya told us before our trip back home that he was over her" said Taiki

"Why didn't you tell me?" whispered Annaleigh.

"What?" asked Yaten.

"That you wanted to get back at Serena for what she did to Seiya?" said Annaleigh. In that instant the brothers looked at each other.

"Is not what you think it is" said Taiki.

"Then by all means please explain" said Annaleigh.

"We didn't mean any harm to her" said Taiki.

"God I'm sick and tiered that everyone talks about her like she is some kind of saint! She is not! She was playing with Seiya's feelings! She was never going to respond to him! The only thing she was doing was leading him! She is a tease! She is an idiotic, self-absorbed, stupid…" said Yaten but was interrupted by a death glare that Annaleigh gave him.

"You better not finish that sentence Yaten, if you know what's best for you. You may be popular but I can very well make you meet hell in school" said Annaleigh coldly.

"So much for a welcome committee" said Yaten rolling his eyes at her.

"Don't test me" said Annaleigh

"She hurt him, alright? The minute you told us that Darien had amnesia…" started Taiki.

"You two though that it would be fun to try to make them get back together and the moment Darien found out about why he was in the car…in that very moment he would leave her, again; so she could have a taste of her own medicine?" finished Annaleigh while shaking her head from one side to the other. "You two are pathetic…you really thought I wouldn't found out? Like you said Yaten, I'm a paranoid bitch. The plan is off…you will stay away from her, did I made myself clear?" asked Annaleigh

"Why do you care so much about her anyway? I mean if you cared so much you would at the very least understand what they have for each other" said Taiki

"Who said anything about me not understanding? No…I get it…I really do…" said Annaleigh "I just prefer to fly solo" she whispered to herself not letting Yaten or Taiki hear.

"So, what know?" asked Taiki

"Now you do a favor for me" said Annaleigh, grabbing a piece of paper and a picture from the coffee table that was in front of the couch.

"You? Need a favor from us?" said with skepticism Yaten taking the piece of paper and the picture that Annaleigh offered.

"Yes, actually I do. I heard from my agent that the three of you are filming a Disney movie, and I already read the script. I figured that you needed a girl for the role of Jenny Kerr, since the producers are most likely to hire the girl you feel is best fitted for it…" said Annaleigh

"You want the role?" asked Taiki taking from Yaten's hands the piece of paper.

"God of course not, I wouldn't even be caught dead in a movie with the three of you…no offence. When I make my debut it will certainly be for another demographic"

"Playboy fans?" asked Yaten, which made Annaleigh smile.

"If you weren't a complete d-bag we could actually be friends…but since that is never going to happen…the girl in photo…she will be perfect…make it work" said Annaleigh

"What's in it for us?" asked Yaten with a smug smile

"No, that's a deal breaker" said Annaleigh

"Oh, I'm sorry but if I've got this correctly Taiki and I could still perfectly make Serena suffer…a lot. What's in it for us?" said Yaten

"Listen, people need to be this tall for making actual threads" said Annaleigh moving her left hand next to her shoulder; over Yaten's head (he kind of had a Napoleon's complex).

"I can pretty much start singing like a bird to dear Darien; tell him everything, how it was Serena's fault that his parents are dead…" said Yaten

"You wouldn't dare…plus that's not even true" said Annaleigh

"Does it matter?" said Yaten, Taiki didn't really know what to say. He wanted to get back to Serena, but not at that level.

"What do you want?" asked Annaleigh

"I knew there was a bottom that I could push…well I want Seiya in Serena's class" said Yaten

"That's not gonna happen" said Annaleigh through her teeth

"Make it happen" said Yaten

"What's Annaleigh gonna make happen?" asked Abby caring a tray full of cookies and two glasses of milk. Annaleigh quickly took the tray from her hands and put it in the coffee table.

"I'm going to convince mom and dad to let you come with me to L.A. in July for The Three Lights concert" said Annaleigh.

"Really?" asked Abby in complete shock

"Yes…front-row seats, VIP passes…it's all thanks to them" said Annaleigh with a big smile to her sister. "Go thank them"

"Oh my God! Thanks you guys so much" said Abby teary eyed

"It's nothing little darling" said Taiki lifting her up and twirling her around, while Yaten shook his head from one side to the other, incredulous to Annaleigh's scheming abilities. He mouthed an "OK" to Annaleigh who was now sitting again in the couch looking at Yaten. (I wonder if Annaleigh's favorite book was "The art of war")

Then Abby forced into Taiki and Yaten about three dozen of freshly baked goodies and they watched the rest of that Dancing with the Stars episode. Later the Kou's said their goodbyes and left to their newly furnished house, the same house they inhabited during their childhood.

Sooner rather than later morning came, and it was a new game plan for all of them, to do nothing, to let it be.

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Serena arrived a bit earlier, which was a nice change for her. She went to her locker and found that Dominic was waiting for her.

'Great, just what I needed' she thought. Once she arrived to her locker she saw Dominic and took a deep breath.

"Don't say anything, ok? Listen, I know you love donuts" this made Serena's eyes sparkle. He opened a Krispy Kreame single donut box. Inside was full of pink-metallic-paper-wrap kisses. Serena looked at Dominic confused.

"I found a way to give you what I want" said Dominic

"It's a…very sweet gesture, Dominic. Thank you" said Serena grabbing the box

"Hey! As slow as you need, just promise me that you'll give me a chance" said Dominic

"All of this just for a stupid pep rally?" asked Serena

"Oh, but is not just a pep rally. No…it's so much more than that…it's…it's high school experience 101, it's what you tell your kids when you are older…it's…it's…yeah it's just a stupid pep rally" said Dominic and Serena giggled. "You'll have fun, I promise"

"Ok, I'll go" said Serena

"Great!" said Dominic almost ready to jump from the happiness

"Can I bring a date?" asked Serena and Dominic's happy face completely fell

"Ok, I have to admit that I didn't saw that one coming" said Dominic and Serena laughed at him

"Relax, I wanted to bring the girls with me…and their dates…don't worry you could be mine" said Serena smiling at him.

"Had me worried for a second there…sure you can bring your friends, no problem" said Dominic

"Actually there is a bid problem Dominic" said the same girl that was talking to Dominic during the Valentine's Ball

"What is it now Emerald?" asked Dominic who was running his face down with his hand as a sign of frustration.

"Hey, don't blame me…as head cheerleader I don't want a nobody like her bringing complete strangers to our private party" said Emerald

"Emerald cut it out, it's an open invite party, everybody is welcomed and Serena is more than welcome to it" said Dominic

"Well I don't want her in there. You shouldn't be wasting your time with her, Dominic. As I told you in the party, once Darien Shields graduates this year you will be the star of the soccer team. You should be with someone popular, with someone really, really beautiful" said Emerald putting a hand in Dominic's chest and trying to push herself into his body "You should be with someone like me"

"Emerald cut it out" said Dominic pulling her hand off of him

"By all means, don't let me interrupt" said Serena who just rolled her eyes and has starting to leave

"Serena wait! Don't go! Listen Emerald as I told you in the ball, I like Serena Tsukino, not only because she is incredibly beautiful or because she is amazingly witty, I like her because, unlike you, she is a good person; unlike you, she doesn't have to become a complete slut to be portrayed as popular or beautiful by others" said Dominic

"How dare you!" yelled Emerald stomping on the ground and everybody that was in the hall at that moment turned to looked at her. "You are going to pay for this" said Emerald to Serena as she left the hall with everybody's eyes still glued at her back.

"I'm sorry about that" said Dominic to Serena with an honest apologetic smile

"Don't worry, she's an amateur compare to other people's threads I've been given" said Serena with a smile. "So…about this party?"

"You are still going?" asked Dominic

"Of course I am…can't let Emerald down" said Serena and both of them started laughing.

They keep talking for a bit until the school bell rang signaling the beginning of the school day. Dominic accompanied Serena to her first class. Everything was going great until she noticed that a large crowd of girls were surrounding a desk in particular.

"Morning Serena" said Lita grabbing Serena's arm and taking her to her own desk

"Morning Lita" said Serena a bit confused "What's with the girls?"

"You didn't know?" asked Lita

"Know what?" asked Serena still very confused

"Muffin, there you are!" said the person sitting at the desk that was surrounded by the clingy girls.

"Oh no!" said Serena shaking her head

"Oh yes" said Lita nodding hers.

Serena turned around and found Seiya walking towards her with a single red rose in his hands.

"Here, it's supposed to say how much I'm sorry and how much I care for you Muffin" said Seiya with a loving smile in his face. Lita just conveniently sat on her desk to have a first row view of the possible upcoming scene.

"Thanks" whispered Serena. She took the rose and left Seiya's side to go and find her sit…next to Seiya's and leaving Lita wanting her own private "Three Light" show.

First two periods passed incredibly slow, Seiya kept trying to grab Serena's attention…byt the end of her first class she didn't know how to keep avoiding looking at him.

During a pop quiz in Spanish, her second class, Serena couldn't help but to look at him and he just offered her a loving smile and she just smiled back. When she realized what she was doing she was mentally kicking herself for not being able to stay mad at him.

Finally at 12pm the lunch bell rang and Serena started to put her things away. But of course that didn't give her a big enough time lapse to run away from Seiya and keep on avoiding him.

"Can I have lunch with you and Molly today in the cafeteria?" asked Seiya

"I don't have lunch at the cafeteria; I have my lunch in the school's garden. Now please excuse me" said Serena standing up.

"Why are you so mad at me?" asked Seiya grabbing her arm so she couldn't leave

"Do you even have to ask?" question back Serena

"What do you want me to say?"

"Nothing…there is nothing you can say to make things better" said Serena she turned her face and noticed that Lita had already left. "Great, Lita left…thanks very much…now I'm late"

"Serena please…why are you mad at me?" asked Seiya in a low voice

"Let me ask you something. Am I that forgettable?" said Serena looking at the floor which she conveniently found very interesting at that moment.

"You are not mad…you are not mad at me at all…you are mad at Darien but can't be mad at him so you are mad at me!" Serena turned to face Seiya with a shock expression in her face and Seiya let go of her arm. "You are not mad at me at all" and Serena simply hugged harder the book that she kept in her arms and left.

*************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

It was 3:15 pm and still no sign of Darien. The detention hall was mostly empty with the exception of a junior kid sitting in the back of the class. He got into trouble when he "accidentally" made a locker explode. He wanted to test the theory of Coke and Mentos. Guess what? It worked.

3:20 pm and still nothing. She kept trying to get a math problem but the more she read it the least it made sense. She gave up around 3:30 pm and started to draw in her notebook. It was a sketch of a couple sitting by a chimney drinking a steamy drink from their cups.

"Wonder how much Mr. Caldwell would give you if you answer with a drawing in the next test?" said Darien taking the sit next to her.

"Hey, you are late" said Serena accusingly

"Sorry" said Darien taking out from his bag some paper sheets that looked to be part of an essay or maybe a lab report.

"What are those?" asked Serena looking at the sheets

"Recycle paper… so I can…write things down" said Darien opening an old Algebra book. "Well first things first…do you know how to add?"

"I'm not an idiot" said Serena

"Well your book is upside down, did you notice?" asked Darien and looked at Serena who turned to look at her book and confirmed that it was upside down.

"Ups…" said Serena laughing while she turned her book "So…are you going to tell me what kept you?"

"Annaleigh" said Darien coldly

"Oh… looks like you guys were pretty busy since you were so late" said Serena teasingly

"My dating life doesn't concern you" said Darien turning to see her

"No…I didn't mean anything by it…I mean…I know it's none of my business" said Serena

"Good…just like is none of my concern who do you date or not…who do you sleep with or not" said Darien, Serena frowned at him

"Mind the tone could you. And FYI, not that it's any of your business, I'm only 14, some of us wait for that kind of stuff" said Serena, Darien changed his expression and took a big breathe

"So, it's not true about you and Colton? That you…you know" said Darien

"What? No! Eww…I haven't even kissed him…not that is any of your business. Did Annaleigh tell you that?"

"What? No! This cheerleader…Emerald I think"

"God!...She is so lame…she is just upset with me because…I don't know…Dominic likes me…and she likes him…but…."

"Yeah…I get it"

"What I don't get its why would she tell you something like that?"

"She was reporting you…for…detention…saying that the two of you were in the middle of a indecent behavior demonstration during lunch"

"And you believed her?"

"No, I knew she was lying because during lunch Dominic was in a meeting with the rest of the soccer team, myself included"

"Then why…were you upset with me?" asked Serena and Darien chuckled

"I'm not sure…"

"Well…that explains it"

"Well…can you add?"

"Yes! I can add" said Serena punching Darien in the arm lightly

"Sorry" said Darien with a smile

Darien didn't want to take any chances and reviewed with Serena everything that she had seen during the year. He wanted to take it slow; he was explaining with the best of his abilities the subject. It was a piece of cake for him but knew it was hard for Serena. They stayed doing simple problems until 7:00 pm. They would have finished a lot sooner but sometimes it was hard for them to concentrate. Sometimes Darien was in the middle of an explanation and Serena was really focused on listening to him and Darien would just cracked up at the sight of her concentrated expression which as he said it, didn't really suit her.

He walked her to her house and said to her just before he left that he didn't knew why but he felt that he knew the street from somewhere, but couldn't place it. (No wonder…he used to be Serena's neighbor)

*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Wednesday after rehearsal they stood until 8:00 pm in the detention hall. Here is why:

"Well you have to agree that it really doesn't make sense" said Serena

"Why? It doesn't have to make sense" said Darien

"Yeah…but why would he want to kill her? I mean she really didn't do anything wrong, she wanted to raise her baby away from that kind of environment"

"Well…he is the father…he needs to know"

"He doesn't need to know…she could have raised the kid just fine…a loving family…and she wouldn't have been so screwed up so young…killing fish at what? The tender age of 4?"

"Are going to keep discussing Kill Bill or are we going to finish this?" said Darien opening a bag of chips and offering it to Serena, which she took away from him very gladly.

"I don't get Quentin Tarantino…I mean…and then there is this whole thing with the snake names. Why snakes? Why not cats…or felines? "

"What would be your feline killer name?" asked Darien opening another bag of chips

"I don't know…Lynx? What would be yours?"

"I don't know"

"Come on…tell me"

"No"

"I told you mine"

"So…?"

"You have to tell me yours!"

"Fine… White… Tiger"

"White Tiger? Yeah…it suits you" said Serena with a giggle

"You think?"

"Yeah it's better than the one I would have thought for you"

"Which was?"

"Mombo cat" and Darien just shook his head while Serena laughed

"I guess Lynx it's better than the one I would have thought for you"

"Which is?"

"Lil' Bunny" said Darien and kept glancing at her with a smile in his face

"That's not a feline" Serena managed to say

"Still suits you better"

He walked her to her house again and this time gave her a kiss…on the cheek as a good bye.

***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Thursday afternoon they spent the whole afternoon studying…well most of the time anyway. It was around 6:00 pm when Serena announced that she had finished a problem that Darien made for her.

"Ok, I'm finished with this one" said Serena handling to Darien her notebook.

"Let me check it" said Darien who was at the moment exchanging a notebook with Serena, this other notebook contain Serena's drawings which Darien found completely stunning. "You know…you are getting better at this" added Darien checking Serena's answer.

"Really?"asked Serena who was drawing in her notebook.

"Yeah…oh…here, you changed the sign…it's negative 2" said Darien as he showed Serena her mistake.

"Ok…I'll change it" she said grabbing her notebook

"Hey…don't move" said Darien moving really closely to Serena. He looked intently at her eyes and started to move closer and closer to her. He stood like that studying her face, he was memorizing it. He then pulled up his hand and touched Serena's cheek, he made a sudden move with his fingertips tickling her and then moved away. "Here you had an eyelash. Make a wish" He said pulling up his index finger which had Serena's blond eyelash in it. She looked at it and then she looked at Darien. She closed her eyes and blew over Darien's finger. He pulled himself even closer to her and then gave her a kiss…on the lips…short, sweet and totally cute, just like the one they shared in the lake so many years ago. Serena couldn't helped but smiled at the predicament she was now in. Dominic tried to kiss her and she pulled away. Seiya kissed her and she stood there like a statue doing nothing. Darien kissed and she completely melted away. So much for staying away.

"Did it came true?" asked Darien to her ear.

"Yes" she whispered back to his cheek.

Darien looked at her and gave her another kiss in the lips. "We should go…I have to go to Annaleigh's"

"Oh…" she said in a sad tone

"Serena, she is my girlfriend" said Darien looking at her

"And what does that make me?" Serena asked

"Serena…I like you…I won't deny that but how can I be with someone that has already left me?" asked Darien

"What? I never…" stuttered Serena

"Let me ask you something…how did we met?" but Serena couldn't said anything to answer to that question

"You don't get it…it's not easy…"

"It never is…I should know…I had to…be alone all the time during those first few months until I could…I have no idea what horrible thing I must have done to make all of my friends disappear. I must have been an idiot"

"No…" Serena cried "Of course not"

"Then why didn't you? I could have used a friend" said Darien with water in his eyes while Serena let a few tears drop.

"I'm sorry" she whispered "I'm the idiot. I was just a kid…I was afraid that you would die…I'm still afraid" she said but in that moment Darien kissed her again. This time the kiss lasted more, still, only their lips touched.

"I get it…you weren't ready…but you still aren't" said Darien and Serena looked in shock at him "Maybe the day you can tell me who did we met is the day we can get back in track. We could let it be for a while."

"Yeah…maybe…let it be" she whispered

"Do you want me to walk you to your house?" asked Darien starting to gather his things and putting them in his bag.

"No…it's ok…it's still early" said Serena doing the same

"You sure?" he asked again

"Yeah… Can I ask you something?" turning to see him before he left

"What is it?" asked Darien

"Why did you kiss me?"

"It was your wish" said Darien with his crocked to one side smile

"But how did you know?" Serena pressed

"You know something? I have no idea!" he said laughing a bit "Take care Meatball Head" and with that Darien left the Detention Hall touching his lips which were wishing they could have kissed her a bit more so they could memorize every single part of her perfect pinkish lips.

'I'm doing what's right' Darien tried to convinced himself. He thought that staying with Annaleigh was what was right. She loved him, she had stayed with him for so long, she put his happiness first, and she had done everything in her power to make things right and easy for him. He had to do this for her; he had to stay with her; she deserved as much. All the while Serena was trying to whisper to herself words of wisdom: "Let it be, let it be".

* * *

Kathy, thanks so much...for everything... you are such a good friend...you listen to me and I know that I may be totally and completely insane but thanks for been my friend anyway. I love so much and I wish that we could stay bff's 4ever. We have been friends for a little bit more than 9 years now and honestly you are one of the few people I still remember from high school, but honestly...who the hell need those people when I have you as my friend. Thanks so much sis!

* * *

Thanks to all the people that still read this madness...I haven't checked my traffic thingy but I'm pretty sure there is only like 4 of you left...by anyways...I love you guys so much...I honestly can't believe I'm actually in chapter 13 of anything...I usually don't pass form the first paragraph...so thanks so much

To the people that read this, that review, that has alerted and favorited me or this story...my neverending gratitude... I (l) u all!


	14. Chapter 14

Hi everyone!

Thanks to my BFF and I guess informal beta Kathy (the funny thing is that I don't think she has ever watched a single episode of Sailor Moon).

Thanks to my awesome reviewers so guys rock!

Now a few announcements

1) Remember when we all were hating Darien for been a classic jerk and wanted him to have a blackeye...yes it's happening...but I'm afraid it won't be the last one (upps!...I shouldn't have said that)

2) Serena and Darien are getting together...sooner than you all think...what you should be asking yourselves is if it will last (yes I'm mean and cruel)

3) I will be making some changes in the cast...cause I need Jeremy Piven for something else...which carries me the question...if I want him to play a small part as Entourage's Ari Gold, should I be posting this as a crossover? I doesn't make any sense to me to post it as one, I just want a special appeareance of my favorite agent. If anyone knows could you be so kind to answer me?

4) I never intended to make a short story, so just please write down that **we are no where near done**.

5) Feel free to add me as a friend on Facebook () or follow me on Twitter (alitamaralva), every time I'm writing a new chapter I log in and ask for suggestions...plus I can use more people in my mafia, clan, posse, house, farm, café or whatever ;) (yes I'm an addict)

6) From now on I'll be making special entries in my blog dedicated to put deleted scenes of the story, explain the cast selection, explain some wardrobe sketches that I've done for the uniforms and things like that, so go check it out.

7) I've writen a new poem in my other blog, so Spanish speaking-poetry lovers, go check it out

Good thing it was just a couple of announcements, all links in my profile as usual.

Thanks for keep on reading, I expect a lot of reviews after this chapter (hint!!!!) ;)

**Love and kissed to you all!**

**Happy reading  
**

* * *

Chapter 14 More than songs

Around 6:30 that evening Serena returned home. It was the first night she had had dinner with her family. She didn't say much during dinner though; Sammy was still mad at her and the name calling was getting a bit worse now. Serena hadn't told him that Darien was tutoring her, that would just simply increase the level of drama, and of course her parents were totally clueless about her boy troubles…she was mostly hiding that tiny fact; having a flirting/dating situation with Dominic, being Seiya's love interest and worst of all, having a weird and almost not possible to even begin to describe relationship with Darien, whom I may add is her Algebra tutor; so her father wouldn't start a witch hunt around town.

She draged herself back to her room and sat in her chair just near her desk. She took out from her back-pack her English notebook and Moby Dick and started reading her notes.

"Call me Ismael" read Serena out load. She kept reading her notes about the plot and Herman Melville's background, the characters, the symbolism and some other stuff. It was around ten that she closed her books and turned on her small stereo that was sitting in her desk. There was already a CD there but she didn't even cared to changed it for another…it was a mixed CD…the SAD (sad, angst and depressed) Collection of every song known to men that simply made you wanna cry.

Serena started to think about how complicated her life had become since the day of the crash with the sound of _Piano Sonata No.14 in C Sharp Minor Op.27 No.2 _of Beethoven performed by Kerri Kavanavich (wow, long name there). Her thoughts were everywhere, some in the Pequod, some at Blue Bear Mountain, some at the Detention Hall that afternoon, some at the Lovers Lake, some were questioning Ahab's hatred, and some were questioning her kiss.

'Don't think about that' she thought each time she saw Darien's lips approaching hers, or each time she felt the tingling in her knees when she remembered the softness of his lips.

'What an idiot am I, Darien is thinking that it was because of him that he had no friends by his side. What have I done?' she kept on thinking, and some other random things about how sometimes she felt just like Ahab…incomplete. 'Darien is what's missing' she continued but he was also fixated with the idea that he wanted to be with Annaleigh…his perfect…sometimes in the verge of crazy, girlfriend. He wanted to be with her, what could Serena do? She had missed her opportunity. And I'm not talking about when Annaleigh offered, I'm talking about when she decided to leave Darien alone, when she decided that it was best for him not to have people that reminded him of the past that he once had but couldn't remembered.

Ever since that day at the hospital when Darien opened his eyes again and couldn't remember Serena, she decided that she couldn't face seeing him like that…or more accurately would be to assume that what she couldn't face was the fact that after everything that had happened, Darien couldn't remember her…and all because of her stubbornness. Don't get me wrong, I don't think it was Serena's fault that Darien's parents passed away or that he had amnesia; but I do think it was her fault that he couldn't remember her. She could have been by his side, he needed her…then more than ever…but what do I know?…I'm only narrating the story.

Broove by Heartbeats started playing and the first tear fell from her eyes.

'Am I like Ahab? Am I obsessed with the idea of being forgotten that I can't see clearly anymore? Darien forgot me; Seiya left me…what is wrong with me? Why do I drive people away? What the hell is wrong with me?!' she continued thinking. (If you ask me, not that you have to take my word or anything, but she is obsessed alright)

Meanwhile in the other side of her bedroom Sammy stood outside listening to her sister cry. She was now listening to Eric Clapton…yes that song…one of the saddest songs ever.

Ikuko came out of her room with an empty cup of tea and she saw her son standing in front of her daughter's room. She went nearer him and asked: "Honey is something wrong with Serena?"

"Mom, everything is wrong with Serena. Don't you listen? She is listening to that stupid mixed CD of hers! Jeez! I swear to God I'm going to sue Eric Clapton for ever writing that song" said Sammy barging in Serena's room and turning off her stereo while it was in the middle of 'Beyond the door there's peace I'm sure and I know there'll be no more tears in heaven'.

"What the hell?" asked Serena whipping her tears and looking at her brother.

"Why do you keep listening to this? Stop this! Stop this now! Don't you see that you are hurting yourself, you stupid Meatball Head?" yelled Sammy at her sister

"What's up your ass, you moron? Turn it back on!" yelled Serena back

"I won't! Can't you see yourself? You are falling into pieces! You are crumbling down and I for once don't want to see that. Get over the fact that it wasn't your fault! The accident wasn't your fault!" said Sammy. (Great, add fuel to the fire).

"Get the hell out of my room now!" yelled Serena and in that moment Ikuko entered the room

"Calm down both of you! Sammy could you be a dear and take this to the kitchen for me please?" asked Ikuko offering Sammy her empty tea cup, which he took before storming out of Serena's room. Serena simply put her head back to her pillow and looked at the ceiling.

"Mom, I want to be alone please" said Serena

"Sweetie, your brother is right. You can't keep doing this to yourself. Maybe is time to go and talk to a counselor" said Ikuko sitting next to Serena and brushing a couple of strands of hair away from her face.

"Mom…please…I want to be alone" said Serena shedding more tears

"Serena, why don't you talk to me about it? You used to talk to me all the time. Please love, I want to help you" said Ikuko but Serena simply closed her eyes, letting herself sob a bit.

"I don't want to talk about it" said Serena between tears

"I know it has to do with boys honey…Maybe the new tutor?" said Ikuko making Serena's eyes open from shock (maybe they weren't so clueless as I thought).

"I know it's not Greg so don't even try to deny it…I've wasted too much time thinking that you are going to come out of this on your own" said Ikuko, last part mostly to herself

"Mom…don't be silly, my tutor is Greg, Amy's friend from calculus" said Serena sitting up

"No he is not, I bumped into Amy today at the grocery store and she told me that she was busy studying for some fancy academic competition and that her _boyfriend_ Greg was studying with her at her house later this afternoon, both of them were excused form school until they finish with the competition." said Ikuko

"Boyfriend?" asked Serena incredulously and adding in her mind to her _To do list_, 'Kill Amy' on top of it.

"Yeah…she told me it only happened last night and that she was very exited" said Ikuko with a smile "But sweetheart, don't change the subject. Who is your tutor and why have you been coming home so late?" Serena let out a big sigh

"It's Darien" she whispered

"Well that explains the tears" she said brushing again Serena's hair

"I kissed him…or he kissed me…I don't really know" said Serena

"You kissed Darien?!" her mom asked in shock

"Well…one thing led to another and yeah…we sort of kissed" said Serena

"But what about Annaleigh?" asked Ikuko

"Oh great! Thanks for reminding me, mom!" said Serena and led out another sigh

"Oh sweetie, I know that you are a good kid" said Ikuko pulling Serena to her side so she could give her a hug. "But you need to decide what it is that you want to do about this. You can't spend your whole life running. You can't escape from what surrounds you."

"I can't tell Darien the truth. He is going to hate me…I can't deal with that. I can't handle him hating me…because it's what I deserve"

"Serena…please, it wasn't your fault"

"Mom…don't you see! If I hadn't wanted to said good bye to Seiya none of this would had ever happened!"

"Serena, it wasn't your fault"

"Yes it was! And worst part is that I left him alone! I left him alone because I was so mad at him! I was mad that he had forgotten me! What a stupid brat! I'm such a Meatball Head! How could I've been mad at him! I should have stayed with him! I should have been there!"

"It wasn't your fault, honey. We are in this world in borrowed time. We can't predict when our time is going to end. It simply was James and Elizabeth's time. And I actually agree that you weren't mature enough to endure seeing Darien like that. Serena, I see what Darien's rehab had done to Silvia and John…they have suffered a lot through it. You weren't prepare for it…you weren't strong enough"

"I should have been…I should have been braver"

"Serena, there is nothing wrong in been afraid. But if you feel so strongly about everything then you should try and be his friend" at this comment Serena turned to see her mother. "Well don't look at me as if I was crazy. You said that you regret not been there, well there is nothing holding you back to do it now. An extra friend never hurt anyone and I'm sure that being his friend again it's what he needs. Be his friend"

"You really think that I could be his friend?"

"Sweetheart if I know anything, is that you two kids were born to be friends…maybe even best friends. You have missed him…and I'm sure that he has missed you too even if he doesn't exactly remembers. I'm sure that in his heart there is a void that only you can fill" this made Serena shed more tears so she hugged her mom and in that hug she let her know how grateful she was that she had such a wonderful mother in her life. "Now…no more depressing music. Understand?"

Serena chuckled, "Yeah…no more depressing music"

"Well just to be sure I'm taking the CD with me"

"Mom!"

"Oh, don't mom me, missy" and then Ikuko took out the CD from Serena's little stereo and left the room after turning off the light.

Serena then turned on the light of her bedside lamp and changed into her pink pajamas. She took her ipod from her bag and put her earphones on. She searched for a playlist in particular and started listening while been laying down on her bed. She was listening to Demi Lovato's "Catch me"

Before I fall too fast  
Kiss me quick, but make it last  
So I can see how badly this will hurt me  
When you say goodbye

Keep it sweet, keep it slow  
Let the future pass, and don't let go  
But tonight I could fall too soon  
Into this beautiful moonlight

But you're so hypnotizing  
You've got me laughing while I sing, you've got me smiling in my sleep  
And I can see this unraveling  
Your love is where I'm falling, but please don't catch me

See this heart won't settle down  
Like a child running scared from a clown  
I'm terrified of what you do  
My stomach screams just when I look at you

Run far away so I can breathe  
Even though you're far from suffocating me  
I can't set my hopes too high  
'Cause every hello ends with a goodbye

But you're so hypnotizing  
You've got me laughing while I sing, you've got me smiling in my sleep  
And I can see this unraveling  
Your love is where I'm falling, but please don't catch me

So now you see why I'm scared  
I can't open up my heart without a care  
But here I go, it's what I feel  
And for the first time in my life I know it's for real

But you're so hypnotizing  
You've got me laughing while I sing, you've got me smiling in my sleep  
And I can see this unraveling  
Your love is where I'm falling so please don't catch me

If this is love, please don't break me  
I'm giving up so just catch me

***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Darien never made it to Annaleigh's, instead he walked around the park until he found himself standing in front of the Tsukino Residence. He stood there for almost an hour looking at the front balcony's light. He didn't know how he knew, but he knew that that was Serena's light.

He walked to his apartment. He was very tired and very hungry. His aunt greeted him and she told him that dinner was in the fridge. He took out the plate that his aunt had arrange for him previously and proceeded to heat it in the microwave. He then took it out and sat with his dinner in one of the stools of the kitchen counter-bar. His aunt entered the kitchen and asked him what he wanted to drink and he said that he wanted some juice. Silvia poured him a glass of apple juice and put it next to him on the counter while sitting next to him.

"Darien, I wanted to talk to you about something" said Silvia

"What is it?" asked Darien with genuine interest in his expression

"Sil, I'm home!" yelled John, from the front door

"We are here in the kitchen!" yelled Siliva back to her husband. John came through the door taking off his tie and putting his briefcase on a free kitchen stool. "I'm glad you are here. Did you had a good day at work?" asked Silvia

"I met some new clients today. They were interested in opening a new store outside town. They want to import all kinds of ingredients to make their business" said John looking for something to eat in the pantry.

"There's food in the fridge, I made four cheese lasagna. And what do they want to make?" said Silvia

"They are chocolatiers. So they are going to need a big place to put the machinery" said John taking out his plate and a bottle of beer.

"Wow, that must be cool. Having a good candy shop near town" said Darien

"They said that they would bring me a sample on Monday. I will bring you two some …if I manage to stay away from it the rest of the day" said John and with him Darien and Silvia chuckled.

"Well you better bring us some" said Silvia menacingly

"Anything for you my love" said John who he winked at his wife stilling from her a smile

"Well I'm glad that you came early, 'cause I wanted to talk to Darien about what we discussed on Sunday" said Silvia

"What is it?" asked Darien to his aunt and uncle who were staring with a sad expression at his nephew.

"Darien, we are concern that maybe your episodes… are a symptom of something far worse" said John taking his seat and ignoring the beep of the microwave, he took a sip out of his bottle and continued. "You are 18 now, and we can't legally force you to have any kind of test now"

"What are you talking about?" Darien asked with concern

"We wanted to take you to a neurosurgeon for an examination, maybe have a CAT-scan and an MRI" said Silvia quietly

"But those things are really expensive" said Darien

"Money is not an issue here, we can run it on our insurance so don't worry" said John "Plus, we have the business…if anything happens…that money is suppose to help in an emergency" he added

"John, don't even think about it. That money is yours, it's your business" said Darien

"That's a family business Darien. Your father built it. One day it will be yours…for anything that you might need" said John with a smile

"What we wanted to tell you is that right now, we are more concerned with your health sweetie. We just want to make sure that there is nothing wrong" said Silvia

"But…aren't you overreacting…I mean…it just happened twice" said Darien

"Twice!" said Silvia and John at the same time.

"When was the second?" said Silvia grabbing his nephew by the shoulder so he was facing her when he spoke.

"Well…it was Monday…maybe" said Darien, a little bit of fright showing in his eyes while he spoke. He swallowed and kept staring at his aunt. "I think it was while I was with Serena" Darien added.

"Serena? Serena Tsukino?" her aunt asked not believing what she was hearing.

"Yeah…Serena Tsukino. You do know her, right? I mean…I'm a 100% sure that I knew her from before the accident" said Darien looking at his uncle now.

"Darien…" said John but was interrupted by Darien before he had a chance to finish his sentence

"Please tell me the truth. I did knew her, right?" asked Darien urgently

"Yes…you knew her. You were friends with her and her twin brother" said John

"She has a twin brother?" asked Darien who couldn't believed his ears

"She does" said Silvia

"What else have you kept from me?" said Darien standing up from his sit

"What are you talking about?" said John

"I'm talking about why I didn't had any friends after the accident!" said Darien raising his voice with every word

"Honey calm down! Remember that we told you that we didn't lived in 10th City before the accident, we lived in New York. We flew first thing once the hospital in Connecticut informed us that you had been in an accident near Blue Bear Mountain" tried to say Silvia but Darien kept shaking his head in disbelief

"I want you to tell me everything again, and don't leave any details out" said Darien taking again his seat, Silvia let out a deep breath and said to John "Could you get me one of those?" signaling the beer bottle. John stood up and went to the fridge and gave it to his wife.

"Thank you" she said and let out another breath. "Ok…let's start from the beginning. Elizabeth called John; I think that it was on the 17th of June to let us know that you had finished school and that the next week you were going with some friends to the camp. They told us about two weeks later that they were having a vacation and that they were staying at a Chalet near the camp. The 8th of July she called us again letting us know that they were leaving soon because…well…something about an airport. Next thing I remember was the police contacting us…John was your father's other emergency contact. We took the first flight available… you were already in the hospital…" said Silvia until she couldn't continue.

"What happened to me?" asked Darien looking at his empty plate. Silvia didn't want to remember so John took her place as the story teller.

"We arrived a day after the accident. The doctors told us that you had a deep laceration in your head, which cause you to fell unconscious. You had some damage internally; you know…broken ribs, broken leg…and you had a piece of glass incrusted in your leg" said John

"I don't remember any of that" said Darien raising his head to see his uncle in the eye

"You were on a coma for a month" said John

"And in that month…what happened exactly?" asked Darien with a little bit of anger in his voice

"You already know that your mother…" started Silvia

"I already know that my mother died in the crash! I already know that my father died in the ER. I already know that I also got this scar during the crash" said Darien signaling his forehead "Which just makes me look more and more like freaking Harry Potter" (orphan living with his aunt and uncle 'cause his parents got killed in a car crash leaving him with a scar in the forehead…yeah…it does sound a bit like it) said Darien now seemingly very frustrated. "I want to know if someone gave a damn about me…or did no one even came to visit me"

"How could you even think that? Your grandparents came down to visit you, my parents did, my sister…" said Silvia but Darien interrupted again "Silvia…I'm talking about my friends…the kids I supposedly went to the camp with. Where were they? Or did I do something that shity that left me with no friends?"

"Darien, what are you talking about? Serena and her family visited you every single day while you were in a coma. Your friends from school did too." said Silvia, water starting to gather in her gorgeous blue eyes.

"Then why when I woke up they never came back?" asked Darien in a low voice, his head buried in his hands. Neither his aunt nor uncle knew what to say. They looked at each other, Silvia shedding tears and John looked as sad as her.

"They did Darien…but you didn't recognize any of them" said John walking towards his nephew and putting his hand on Darien's shoulders. "Your friend Serena had a…melt down of some sort…she was very young as the rest of your friends so your psychologist suggested that it was best for you and the rest of your friends to not push your limits. He said that been near them could do more damage than good" finished John

"That's why…she never came back?" asked Darien

"She was very affected…we all were…but I think she was the one who took it the worse" said Silvia whipping away a couple of tears that threaten to leave her eyes. Darien never said anything back. After ten minutes of complete and award silence Darien left his sit at the kitchen counter and headed to his room. As soon as he walked through the door he slammed it as hard as he cold. He started pacing in his room and then, out of the blue, he took his alarm clock and slammed it to the wall across the room.

Saying he was mad was probably the understatement of the year. He wanted to punch someone in the face so he could watch someone else be upset and in excruciating pain. He wanted to scream for all what he was hiding, he wanted to scream so loud, he wanted to be heard all around the world.

After watching his alarm clock hit the wall he crumbled to the floor and cried. He wanted to be with his parents, parents that he didn't even knew, but wanted to be with them nonetheless. The best thing that he knew as parental love was the love of his uncle and aunt, but still wasn't the same. He wanted to be near someone he could call mom. He wanted to cry on his mother's shoulders and wanted to hear his father's advice, but that wasn't going to happen.

Silvia came through the door and sat on the floor next to Darien. She simply pulled him to a hug and he let loose of all the emotions that he had tried to hide for God knows how long. Silvia stayed hugging him and whispering words of comfort until he fell asleep. She then woke him up and told him and get into bed. He went to the bathroom and brushed his teeth and changed into his pajama pants and washed his face with cold water trying to calm his still angry nerves. His uncle knocked the door and asked through the door if he was feeling any better. Darien apologized for losing his temper and said that he was feeling a lot better now. Darien left the bathroom and walked to his back-pack and searched for his black ipod. Then he went to his bed and laid there listening to very loud music, nothing in particular.

He started listening a lot of heavy metal, then there was Kiss, some Metallica, some Iron Maiden, some Guns n' Roses, AC/CD and while he was on his highway to hell he put special attention to the lyrics of a song by R.E.M.

When the day is long and the night, the night is yours alone,  
When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on  
Don't let yourself go, 'cause everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes

Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it's time to sing along  
When your day is night alone, (hold on, hold on)  
If you feel like letting go, (hold on)  
When you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on

'Cause everybody hurts. Take comfort in your friends  
Everybody hurts. Don't throw your hand. Oh, no. Don't throw your hand  
If you feel like you're alone, no, no, no, you are not alone

If you're on your own in this life, the days and nights are long,  
When you think you've had too much of this life to hang on

Well, everybody hurts sometimes,  
Everybody cries. And everybody hurts sometimes  
And everybody hurts sometimes. So, hold on, hold on  
Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on  
Everybody hurts. You are not alone

Even if the song was telling him that he wasn't alone, he certainly felt alone. Everybody did hurt and everybody did cry. But maybe it was time to let that go…stop being so alone, and start getting close to the abysm that he still felt. He was going to try to get close to his past by getting close to those he knew that knew him once.

Of course it was scary…he still felt…incomplete.

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

By 12 o'clock that same night both Serena and Darien still were listening to their respective ipods, still neither could fall sleep. At the same time they lifted their left arm so it was holding the back of their heads while they were looking at the ceiling. Then at the same time Serena turned to her right while Darien turned to his left. If they were sharing the same bed they could have been able to look at each other's faces. Then, at that moment both their ipods started tuning "More than words" by Extreme.

The lyrics of that song made possible for them both to imagine the person they most wanted to be with.

Serena could see perfectly the midnight blue eyes covered by some bangs of raven hair. She could see his face, still innocent, still holding a serene expression. She could see his body, how he was breathing, she could see him inhale and exhale easily her aroma and how each time he sensed her nearer him he kept smiling even more. She could see him approaching her to an unending hug. She could see him, and he could see her. Her ocean deep blue eyes, her golden untied hair, her beautiful face that guarded the meaning of love and purity in it. He could see her button nose, rosy cheeks, her red lips which she kept licking from time to time when she felt that they were dry, he could see her hands and the way that she was holding them between her face and pillow. He could see how she kept closing her eyes and losing her fight to sleep. He could see her, and there weren't needed any words to describe how much they both wanted to be together through the rest of that song, and forever after that. But they couldn't, they couldn't until those words were spoken. There was still so much left to be spoken from behalf of them both that impeded what they most wanted right then.

Darien wanted to hear from Serena all those things that she was keeping from him and Serena wanted to have the strength to tell Darien all those things that she was keeping from him. Like all of those adventures they had as little kids, how much they cared for each other, how much they loved each other. She wanted to tell Darien about the accident, she wanted to tell the truth, but she couldn't, because she was selfish. She felt selfish, because if not telling Darien the truth that he wanted to hear, kept him near her, then she would kept it from him, so she could have the insurance that she needed; that he would stay with her. She couldn't be away anymore, that kiss had told her that. She couldn't stay away anymore. And maybe if they couldn't exactly be together for the time being, then, they would be friends.

Serena needed to say the truth, and Darien needed to say to her that he forgave her; those were the words.

Saying I love you  
Is not the words I want to hear from you  
Its not that I want you  
Not to say, but if you only knew  
How easy it would be to show me how you feel  
More than words is all you have to do to make it real  
Then you wouldn't have to say that you love me  
Cos Id already know

What would you do if my heart was torn in two  
More than words to show you feel  
That your love for me is real  
What would you say if I took those words away  
Then you couldn't make things new  
Just by saying I love you

More than words

Now I've tried to talk to you and make you understand  
All you have to do is close your eyes  
And just reach out your hands and touch me  
Hold me close don't ever let me go  
More than words is all I ever needed you to show  
Then you wouldn't have to say that you love me  
Cos Id already know

What would you do if my heart was torn in two  
More than words to show you feel  
That your love for me is real  
What would you say if I took those words away  
Then you couldn't make things new  
Just by saying I love you

More than words

When the song finished they both pulled away their earphones and fell asleep. Until further notice saying "I love" was the unspoken truth.

***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Next day they were both filling a lot different. For once Darien couldn't wait to see Annaleigh, and Serena was actually really excited about the pep rally that evening. They showered, had breakfast and got ready for school.

When Serena was brushing her teeth Sammy got in their shared bathroom and when he saw Serena, he left immediately. Serena called him back.

"Sammy wait, come here for a sec" and so her twin brother entered again the bathroom hesitantly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for the past five years that I have been a classic Meatball. I'm sorry for keeping you away from a person you felt was the cool, older brother that we never got. I'm sorry that I had been so afraid that I haven't given any of you the chance of getting back again on our lives and I'm particularly sorry for just been a bad sister. I love you, I really do. You had never let me down…but I have. I'm sorry" said Serena

"It's about time you realize what an awesome brother you have" he said winking at her and walking further into the bathroom. He still was wearing just his blue robe; he still hadn't changed into his uniform so Serena took this as a chance. Sammy bended down and opened the cabinet that was under the sink; he was looking for his mouthwash (you know…gotta have a fresh breath for the girlfriend). Serena picked up the glass that they used to keep their toothbrushes and she filled it with water and threw it all to Sammy. Before he could react to the particularly cold water she put down the glass near the sink and run for her life.

"Oh, you are so dead!" yelled Sammy from the bathroom. Serena run to her room and tried to close her door behind her but Sammy was fast and sneaked into the room before she could close the door. He tackled her into her bed and started tickling her. She started to cry from all the tickles and she couldn't even breath, Sammy wasn't playing nice.

"Stop, stop, stop. God please stop it" said Serena between tears and giggles.

"That will teach you Meatball Head" said Sammy standing up from Serena's bed but just then she called him…by Elena's pet name

"Come on Chicken Little, was that the best you got?" asked Serena still laid in her bed trying to breath (oh no she didn't, oh yes she did)

"Why would you call me that?" asked Sammy shaking his from one side to the other, still wearing a smirk in his face.

"I could ask you the same?" said Serena sitting up

"Call it even then?" asked Sammy walking away

"I'll have to get you back later with that one" said Serena loud enough for her brother to hear; whom was walking to his own room; Serena moved away from her bed and walked to her closet to change into her uniform. First she took off her pink fluffy robe and put on her white tights. Then she put on her white button down shirt and then her gray high waist-pleaded skit which had a line of black buttons in the front. Then she tied her red tie in front of her full length mirror and approached again her closet to look for her black ballerina style flats and then she grabbed the black blazer jacket of her uniform. She looked out the window and noticed that the sun was shining particularly bright that Friday morning so she decided against wearing her black over coat; it wasn't needed, the weather was warming up.

She quickly tied her hair in her usual buns and finished applying some chapstick and gloss to her lips. After a quick "Secret Crush" splash she was ready.

"Ready?" asked Sammy who was popping his head through her door.

"Yep" said enthusiastically Serena to her brother. She grabbed her bag and run to meet him downstairs. Already downstairs near the door her lunch was waiting, prepared by her loving mother.

"Bye kids, please be careful" said Ikuko stepping out from the kitchen to wish their children goodbye. "What time are you getting home?" she asked to them.

"I have practice" said Sammy

"I have rehearsal" said Serena

"Children, I need time not excuses for why are you going to return late" said Ikuko

"About 5:30, I think" said Sammy

"What about you Serena, are you going to stay late from tutoring" asked Ikuko

"I don't think so, I think I'm going to arrive earlier so I can get ready for the party" said Serena not really thinking about what she was saying

"What party?" asked Sammy and Ikuko at the same time.

"The pep rally. Dominic invited me, I'm going with the girls" said Serena

"The pep rally?" Sammy and Ikuko asked at the same time again and with the same incredulous tone (like mother like son).

"Yeah…it's no big deal" said Serena

"Serena, honey, you told me how mean those cheerleaders were with you and Mina. Why do you want to expose yourself to that kind of abuse?" asked Ikuko

"Mom! It's just a party…It's in the Crown so Andrew and Lizzie will be there, the girls are going with me so there is nothing to worry about; ok?" said Serena whose annoyance was almost palpable in her tone.

"If you say so" said Ikuko

"Just trust me, ok?" said Serena giving her mom a kiss in the cheek and waved her goodbye. Serena left first home and in that moment Elena arrived to the Tsukino Residence. From the house's entrance she waved Ikuko and waited for Sammy to say goodbye to his mother.

"So, should I be worried about this party…and this Dominic?" asked Ikuko who offered Elena a wave back.

"If you want me to, I can go as well to the rally" said Sammy

"I thought you hated that sort of thing?" said Ikuko looking at her son

"I thought Serena hated it also. If there is one thing I love about tennis is the lack of pompoms. But it won't be as bad if the girls go. I'll make sure nothing happens to her" said Sammy stepping outside from the house to the front porch.

"Awwww, aren't you the protector brother" said Ikuko rapping her arms in Sammy's shoulders and pulling him to a big kiss in the head.

"Mooooooommmmmmm!" said Sammy pulling away from his mother. He rolled his eyes and waved goodbye and went to meet his girlfriend with a quick kiss on the lips.

"What was that all about?" asked Elena to Sammy

"Nothing…it's just that we are going to the rally tonight at The Crown" said Sammy who was still a bit annoyed by the very fact.

"Why? I thought we hated that kind of stuff?" said Elena

"My thoughts exactly…I'll fill you in later" said Sammy who simply took Elena's hand in his own and walked quietly to school.

***************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Darien was just cleaning up the mess he did the night before from his room when Silvia knocked on the door and stepped in. Darien was just picking up from the floor all the bits and pieces left from the poor alarm clock.

"Good, now I know what to get you for your birthday" said Silvia sitting down on Darien's bed

"Very funny" said Darien picking up what used to look like the screen of the clock.

"Sweetie, we made an appointment for you" said Silvia waiting for him to turn around and look at her, but he never did. Darien simply nodded and continued picking up what was left of the clock and disposing it all in a garbage bag. "It will be in a couple of weeks" said Silvia

"It's ok. I really hope it's nothing serious" said Darien looking at the closed bag he was holding in his hands. Silvia moved to take the bag away from him.

"You'll see, it will be nothing. It's just to prove to John that there is nothing wrong with you" said Silvia with a smile.

"But, what if there is something wrong with me? What if I lose my memories again? I can't start again! I don't want to lose everything all over again!"

"You won't! Let's just have a little faith, ok? Everything will be alright" said Silvia

"Thanks Sil, for everything. I know I'm not the most grateful kid ever, but I really appreciate everything you and John have done for me" said Darien giving his aunt a big and meaningful hug.

"That's what your mom would have wanted me to say to you" she said with teary eyes "Plus, you don't have to apologize to me. I'm with you…you are like my own son. I love you"

"You really are like a mom to me. You are the only one I know" said Darien with a chuckle "and by the way, you are going to be a hell of a mom one day. Don't stop trying" said Darien to her while leaving his room with his black uniform jacket in one hand and his back-pack in the other. His red tie was a little messy but that just made him look a lot hotter than he already was. Darien climbed down the elevator and started walking to school.

Just as he reached the school grounds he spotted Serena talking to her friends. He stayed there for a bit, remembering last night. Then all of the sudden he realized that she was looking at him as well. She smiled at him and waved him, but just as she was about to walk to talk to him the first bell rang and Mina shook her back to reality and took her in direction to the school Theater. He then decided to actually make an appearance in soccer practice for a change. The second he entered the boy's locker room he changed into his soccer practice uniform and waited for Andrew to do the same.

Both of them headed to the soccer field and waited for Coach Collins to arrive.

"Morning Nate, morning Dominic" said the coach as he moved in front of his team with a new kid behind him. "Listen ladies, this is Seiya Kou" this statement made Darien very curious. He also noticed that the Kou kid was looking right at him. Word was that he used to know him from before the accident. Maybe he would give him an easy chance in the field if he wanted to try out for the team, so that he could give his spot to him and not to Dominic-dream girl stiller-Colton. "He is trying out to make the team today so let's show him what we got. Furuhata, Colton, Summers, Smith, Ramirez, Blackmoon, Brady, Geller, Benton and Carter! All of you go with the Kou kid! Mitchell, Orlish, Rashid, Thermopolis, Solis, baby Blackmoon, Peters, Robbins, Sullivan and Fernandez! You'll go in the other team. The other ladies will do bench for now" finished the couch and send everyone to warm up. "Shields" the couch yelled to Darien who was about to go do a couple of laps around the field. He looked at Andrew, who in exchange shook his head not knowing what the couch wanted to talk about.

"Yes couch?" said Darien to Mr. Collins the second he got nearer him

"Nice of you to show up. Did you know the team has a match on Sunday?"

"So that's why the pep rally was tonight. I was beginning to wonder" said Darien with a smirk

"Listen kid, if you don't want me to erase that smirk out of your face you will show up to practice. Understood?"

"Yes" Darien whispered

"I didn't hear you!" yelled Mr. Collins into Darien's ear

"Yes Couch Collins" yelled Darien to the ground

"Good! And you are on Mitchell's team today" said Mr. Collins

"What? But you always put me and Andrew together" said Darien furrowing his eyebrows

"You have missed practice ever since that ridiculous play started" Mr. Collins hissed to Darien "And you actually thought that I was going to let it easy for you? Kid there would be scavengers on Sunday's game! You future…" but Darien didn't let him finish

"I'm glad that there would be scavengers on Sunday, Couch; but I thought that I made myself clear when I told you that I wasn't going to spend the next four years of my life playing soccer. I've been already accepted into…" this time Mr. Collins interrupted him

"Listen kid, we all know what a genius you are. But let me ask you something; how are you going to pay for Harvard? The Ivy's are not free Shields, and I'm glad that your orphan ass hasn't had to work two or three jobs growing up so the family could have enough to pay for food and rent; I'm really glad. Some of us had. So you better be on your best game on Sunday or I swear to God that you'll be out of the team, Captain. The Headmaster can quote me on that" said Mr. Collins with anger all over his face (what an "whj*"!!!!)

"Do I still carry the honor, Couch?" hissed Darien to Mr. Collins

"Yes" Mr. Collins hissed back "And you better show up for practice from now own"

"Sir, I have the play rehearsal" tried to say Darien

"Don't give me the _fairy_ tale again Shields. Practice or you are out. Now go!" just about the moment Darien was going to do his normal 5 laps around the field Mr. Collins spoke again. "And after the practice you'll stay here and do 20 laps for each day you have missed, _Captain_".

Just as the rest of the team finished their laps, Mr. Collins called Diamond and Seiya.

"Blackmoon, you told me that you had kind of a misunderstanding with Shields, aren't I right? Well, why don't you work it out…in the field while I go grab a cup of coffee?"

"For real couch?" asked Diamond

"If you have a problem just tell Mitchell to handle Furuhata. You have a problem with that kid?" asked the couch to Seiya who couldn't believe what was about to happen. His friend, his childhood friend, the guy he looked up as a brother was about to get his ass kicked…literally.

Seiya couldn't help but to look back into all those times that Darien had played soccer with him. Darien was the one who taught him, since his older brothers weren't into sports. I mean if it wasn't for Darien he wouldn't be here…he would have stayed home…with Serena…Darien was the one who took his Serena away. If it wasn't for Darien…Serena would still trust him, would still love him.

"Not at all" said Seiya back to the couch

"Congratulations kid, you just made the team" said Mr. Collins padding Seiya on the shoulder, the tyrant had a smirk on his sunburned face as he left Diamond's and Seiya's side.

Diamond simply nodded his head in acknowledgment to Seiya and headed to Rubeous Mitchell (hahaha, didn't saw that one coming, did you?) side and whispered to him his plan of action. Rubeous nodded as well.

The game started out fine…you know…I guess all of you have watched a soccer game before. Basically there are 22 guys running around a ball trying to make goals. (If you haven't I highly recommend The Champions League; the players are way hotter there…and then maybe you can all cheer for my personal favorite team: Real Madrid; believe me, there was a time when the hottest soccer players on Earth were there, Luis Figo and David Beckham included. They also play sort of good if you are into watching the sport).

A little after both teams had scored was when Diamond "accidentally" tackled Darien to the ground.

"You ok, Darien?" asked Diamond offering his hand

Darien didn't take it. He just stood up and glared at Diamond. The moment Darien was about to make his free kick Diamond said "You better look out…and take care of yourself" he added an annoying laugh that just made the whole thing a lot more sinister. Darien shuddered and made his free kick. A couple more fouls were made to him…all of them looked really innocent in fact and then it came.

If you all think about it; the penalty happened almost in slow motion. Darien had intercepted a pass from the other team and he was now running through the half line. He felt a hand grabbing his shirt from behind and then he decided to pass the ball to some other teammate. He passed it to Sapphire and he managed to take control of the ball just before it went out of the field but just then Diamond approached at top speed and stopped just right where his brother was starting to move and pushed his shoulder with all of his strength so it would made contact with Sapphire's back. This of course, made Sapphire fall to the ground and roll a couple of times.

"Diamond, you asshole! That hurt" the rest of the team heard Sapphire yelled from the ground.

"Shut up and take like a man, Sapphire" yelled Diamond to his brother.

"Shut the hell up Diamond" said Darien as he quickly moved to Sapphire's help. He helped him stand up and stood near him while he took air.

"You ok?" asked Darien

"Yeah… if someone didn't knew better they'll think that we are actually adopted" said Sapphire with a laugh as he put his hand in his tights and bent his body a little bit to grab more air.

"I thought you were adopted?" said Darien padding lightly his back

"We are" said Sapphire letting out a sigh. "I'm better now…thanks"

"Don't even mention it" said Darien. He then gave the ball to Sapphire so he could make a corner shot.

Darien was going to catch it with a header but then he felt someone else's hard head hit his. Darien fell immediately to the floor, rolled about three times until his body stopped and he was facing the ground. The pain was horrible but still bearable; weird pain attacks were much worse. He could hear fast steps approaching his side. He really thought that it was someone who would help him…not what really happened.

As the steps came nearer Darien decided to roll his body so he could face the sky; worse mistake ever. He opened his eyes and could see Diamond's face on top of his. Darien furrowed his eyebrows; he didn't like this… he didn't like this at all.

"Little help here?" said Darien to Diamond. Diamond simply smirk and made a quick move with one of his feet.

Darien simply felt something hit the left side of his face. After that everything went black. He didn't hear the big fight that Diamond's kick cause, he didn't felt when he was been lifted and taken to the Nursery. He didn't heard nor felt anything after that kick; he was just surrounded by a whole lot of darkness. He didn't felt the pack of ice that Betty, the school nurse, put on his head. He didn't heard Annaleigh's worried yells when she found out what had happened to him and mostly didn't hear himself call for Serena the second he felt Annaleigh's hand brush his hair from his face. Annaleigh didn't froze or worried herself as she was listening to her boyfriend call for someone else, she giggled.

"Betty, I'm calling Darien's parents, ok?" said Annaleigh to the nurse who was writing some things down in a chart.

"Sure, honey. Want me to stay with him while you are at it?" said Betty

"No…don't worry. I'll call a friend" said Annaleigh moving from the gurney.

Annaleigh stood outside the nursery for a couple of seconds until she let out a sigh and looked for Serena Tsukino. As it was the lunch break she looked for the blonde in the gardens, and there she was having a laugh with her group of friends.

"Hi girls!" said Annaleigh

"Hi Annaleigh!" greeted everyone at the same time, which made them look at each other and laugh even harder.

"May I interrupt? Serena I need you in the nursery" said Annaleigh politely

"Hell no! I already told Ms. Betty that I don't want to get the flu shot" said Serena crossing her arms.

"Serena this has nothing to do with swine flu…this is about Darien…his in the nursery" said Annaleigh while Serena's world crumble right there, her worst fear…Darien was hurt.

Bits and pieces of a song she hadn't heard in a while entered her head without her permission.

Sometimes everything is wrong. Now it's time to sing along  
When your day is night alone, (hold on, hold on)  
If you feel like letting go, (hold on)  
When you think you've had too much of this life, well hang on

She nodded to Annleigh and headed with her to the school nursery.

* * *

Reviews are always welcomed!

Also I should say that my finals are just a few weeks away...so...guess which one has to suffer...

sorry...I'll try my best to write something down...

Bye guys... hope to hear from you soon


	15. Chapter 15

I'm so incredibly sorry for taking forever to update. I'm done with finals, things end up being great in college...you know with the mild exceptions of wanting to kill everyone by proyect's due dates but overall things couldn't possibly have gotten any better (well actually they could, but I'm trying not to complain so much about it).

Ok...now let me tell you something important about this chapter, it's very important for the story, it took me forever to write because it needed to be just one chapter.

As promised Darien and Serena are finally together here...but then again, _if you don't know me by now..._

**Important Disclaimers, Ari Gold is a character from HBO's Entourage. Sailor Moon is a story owned by Naoko Takeuchi (shock there) and Who knew is a song by Pink.**

Ups! I almost forgot, special thanks to my cousin, who is an incredible writer an helped me so much in this chapter...I bored her so much during our sleepover that she took the laptop away from me and helped me write a particular scene (don't worry, you'll recognized it).

Ok...what else...personal add campaign time!

Follow me on Twitter, find me under Alitamaralva.

Become my friend on Facebook, my email is alitamaralva(at)hotmail(dot)com.

Visit my blogs, links are in my profile and visit my profile so you could see the dream cast so far (there has been some changes in it)....other funny comments at the end of the chapter.

Please enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 15 Who knew?

_Love is a splendid thing, all you need is love._

It's hard to explain the connection that two people in love have. Those moments that they treasure are for them alone. That connection is full of them, full of special moments, full of happiness, passion, joyfulness, zeal, create, fervor and even obsession.

Love is a very difficult thing to explain. When two people are in love, there is no time or space, there only exists the other. There is devotion, there is affection and there is sensibility. When you are in love you decide that that special someone's happiness is above yours, and you feel the need to sacrifice yourself to make the other person happy. Your happiness is their happiness and there is nothing better than that.

_Love above all._

That spring night there was only love binding these lovers. The purest kind, the innocent kind.

They were sitting in the floor of her balcony watching the stars and the magnificent full moon. There was a bit of a cold breeze so they were very close together. He was trying to protect her from the breeze by putting one arm around her and pulling her even closer to his side.

It was late…around midnight and the girl in his arms was finally losing her battle to sleep. She was gorgeous; her blonde hair dancing with the breeze, her head leaning towards his shoulders and she was starting to say random things between this world and the land of the dreams.

"Serena, you should go to sleep now" said the boy sitting next to her

"Nooooooo" she mumbled

"Come on Buns…it's late. We have school tomorrow"

"No, I want to stay here with you" she said and then she yawned. He waited for her to finish and then scooped her up into his strong arms. He carried her inside and laid her in her bed. He kissed her forehead and murmured several 'I love you's'. She opened her eyes and leaned to give him a proper goodnight kiss. The kiss started really slow, they let just their mouths meet, but then he let himself sit on the bed just next to her so he could easily put both his hands on her, one in the small of her back and the other in the back of her head, so they were even closer to each other. The kiss heated quickly after that. She put her arms around his neck and drove him inch by inch into her bed. He accepted the invitation with a little bit of hesitation…her parents were home, it was late…but she was simply irresistible.

"Buns, come on…we have to wake up early tomorrow" he said trying to back away from her but the minute he did she made the most adorable pout, he simply chuckled. "Don't make that face"

"Then stay here with me" she said trying to pull him in again but failed when he grabbed her hands into his.

"Can't… don't worry, we'll see each other tomorrow morning, we'll walk together to school, ok?"

"Fine" she said letting out a sigh. He moved from her bed to her balcony.

"Night Buns…I love you" said the dashing boy

"Night Darien" said the beautiful girl from her bed to the boy that was now jumping from the balcony's veranda to the large apple tree that divided his house from hers. He passed from one branch to the other until he jumped into his own balcony. He looked back into the house of his girlfriend for a second. He smiled with reassurance, finally, after so long, after so many things had happened he could call her his girlfriend.

Next day Darien woke up with a smile in his face, he had a perfect life, he did. He got ready for school and walked downstairs were he found his aunt cooking something in the kitchen. He approached her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"You are up early" said Silvia

"Yeah…couldn't sleep anymore…I'm kind of nervous" said Darien pouring himself a glass of apple juice.

"Why? Are you asking her today?" asked Silvia turning her omelet upside down

"Yes…I mean…I want to make it special" said Darien "Any suggestions?"

"Well…what did you do the last time?" asked Silvia serving the omelet on a plate and putting it on the counter by her side.

"It was actually really cute, she thought that I was going to invite someone else…since she is younger than me…" he chuckled while he remembered the little incident "she was screaming and throwing stuff at me"

"That sounds like her" said Silvia laughing

"So…how long are you staying?" asked Darien arranging the table for breakfast.

"Why, are you sick of me and John already?" asked Silvia

"Of course not…you should move here" said Darien to Silvia

"Kids and everything?" asked Silvia

"Mainly for the kids, they love to be here. We have a lot of space…plus they keep Debbie company, they play with her…it kind of reminds me when me and Serena were young and had all those sleepovers"

"That would be really nice…but John has his practice in New York…I can't ask him to just resign and move here" said Silvia

"Why not? He could be a lawyer here …and even help the old guy with the business…like they are always talking of doing" said Darien sitting down and waiting for his aunt to do the same.

"You are right…but things aren't always that simple" said Silvia letting out a sigh and sitting down next to Darien.

"What are you two conspiring about?" said a beautiful woman with long dark hair and bright blue eyes who was popping her head through the kitchen's door

"Nothing…my nephew here is trying to lure me into moving back to 10th City" said Silvia smiling to the woman who was now approaching both of them.

"I agree with your nephew" said the woman to Silvia and then she bent over and kissed Darien on the forehead. "Did you slept well last night, handsome?" the woman asked Darien.

"I slept great actually" said Darien and added his signature smirk to his statement.

"Yeah? And how long did you stayed at Serena's last night?" asked the woman again, this time she was moving in direction to the stove and gave a quick glance to the food that was laying in a hot pan in one of the stove's disks. She decided that it looked good enough to eat and proceeded to grab a plate and serve herself an omelet.

"Not long enough" said Darien loud so the woman could hear him.

"I'll love to hear what Ken thinks of that" and with that both the woman and Silvia laughed.

"Ha ha. Very funny… So Ken doesn't like me…what's new?" said Darien poking his food with his fork.

"Don't worry sweetie, it's not only you. Ikuko told me the other day that they still have huge problems when Sammy's friends come to hang in their house" said the woman reaching the table with a plate in one hand and a fresh poured cup of coffee in the other.

"Well to be completely fair, I have problems with the fact that Sammy brings his friends to their house too" said Darien, causing Silvia and the woman to burst into laughter again. "Hey…that's not funny. All the boys in school are like in love with Serena, it's pathetic"

"Well…now you know how Serena felt a couple of years ago when the girls started noticing you too" said Silvia

"That's different. I would never notice another girl" said Darien seriously, still looking at his food. There was silence after that…for a couple of minutes…both Silvia and the woman were trying to suppress their desire of bursting in a loud "AWWWWWWWW"…but that would only embarrass Darien even more.

"Tell her that" said Silvia "When you ask her to prom, tell her exactly that"

"Thanks Sil. You are the best" Darien said and then he jumped from his sit, gave Silvia and the woman a kiss on their cheeks and ran out of the kitchen to his bedroom.

"Hey, where's the fire?" said a tall blond man who looked very young for his age and who wore in his face the same midnight blue color that graced Darien's eyes. He was coming out from a room across Darien's.

"Nothing" said Darien quickly "I just need to get to school before I come back to walk Serena there"

"Why? "What's up?" asked the man

"I finally figured out how to ask her" said Darien entering into his room and grabbing his back-pack which was lying in his messy bed.

"Jeez…. I thought it was something important" said the man brushing his face with his hands

"It is important" said Darien exiting his bedroom

"In my days we just called the girl and asked her out, no fuzz, and no mess" said the blond man.

"Well…this is not just some girl dad…this is Serena we are talking about. I can't just ask her…she might say no" said Darien walking to the stairs.

"Well you are right about that…she is into the romantic stuff and everything" said the man and so Darien turned to look at him

"Like no other" and both Darien and the young man laughed.

"Good luck then son. By the way, have you seen the misses?" asked the man to Darien

"Yeah she is downstairs in the kitchen with Silvia. You better wake up John 'cause they already made breakfast" said Darien

"Well…if it's Silvia's omelets then I won't wake him up"

"Then don't" said Darien laughing as he finished climbing down the stairs.

Darien quickly stepped out of his house, rushed to the garage and took out his bike. He drove it as fast as he could until he reached the school's grounds. He really had to hurry if he wanted to make it in time to pick Serena up.

He didn't even bother to park his bike; he took it inside with him. He reached his locker and then started to open the lock when he heard someone by his side. He turned to see who it was.

"You know…for student body president you sure break a lot of rules" said a tall brunette girl.

"Well…let's just say that the job let me bend the rules for my convenience" said Darien to the girl

"Then I'm glad I taught you well" said the girl

"I learned from the best"

"Indeed you did Shields"

"Oh my God! I thought you weren't coming back this year Leigh"

"And miss prom? Are you insane?"

"And here I thought that you would be busy filming another Cover Girl commercial"

"Shut-up, I'm not only a pretty face anymore"

"Really, did anyone found something more?" Annaleigh hit his arm teasingly

"Actually…you are looking at the new Jo March. I'm doing Little Women in London this fall"

"Really? How convenient that your new boyfriend would be in London this fall too"

"He is not my boyfriend…he is just…you know…my date to prom" said Annaleigh and for the very first time Darien saw her face completely blushed with embarrassment.

"Oh my God…I never thought the day that Leigh Roberts fell in love would come. The Maneater herself…" said Darien mockingly

"You are a jerk Darien"

"So I been told…by you actually…several times"

"Ha ha ha…so you watch TMZ, what's new in Hollywood?"

"Well Brad and Angelina are adopting a new baby, but that's not new... and I don't watch TMZ, I'm an extrictly E! guy"

"How queer of you! Serena must be so proud"

"Bitch"

"Ass" and with that they burst into laughter and gave each other a huge hug.

"And tell that Novak guy that he better take care of you or I will personally hunt him down…"

"And kick his sorry ass?... God I missed you!"

"That's your fault…you wanted to be famous…apparently been pretty wasn't enough. So how's New York?"

"Getting a bit old…that's why I'm moving to London"

"With pretty boy Novak? Are you guys moving in together? Does your parents know?"

"Don't worry about them, I don't…But any way, tell me how things are going with Ms. Clutz of the Year"

"Well…she hates you by the way"

"Why now?"

"Apparently you didn't sent her a year supply of make-up or some crap like that"

"Ohhhh yeah…she might have mentioned it like a zillion times that she wanted some…mmm…I must have conveniently forgotten. Well… see you later…I have to tell Lily that I came back"

"Hey Leigh…do you still have the same agent that I met last year during prom?"

"Ari Gold? Yeah I do…why?"

"Well…I was kind of planning this thing for prom and…I was just thinking…"

"Does she already have a dress?"

"I don't think so…I haven't asked her yet"

"Well…let me see what I can do"

"Thanks Leigh, I love you"

"Tell that to my fan club manager" she said mockingly as she pulled out her cell phone and pressed redial

"Ari? Hi it's Leigh. Listen I kind of need a favor to ask and you better help or you bet that new Rolex that I gave you for Hanukah that I'm going to kill you and then fire your Jewish ass… Good. Now listen…"

Darien arrived 20 minutes later to Serena's house; he got in just as Sammy came out of his house.

"It's your turn to pick up Elena?" asked Darien to Sammy who was walking down the path of stairs to the front gate of his house.

"Yeah…gotta run though…she hates it when I'm late" said Sammy running past Darien "See you in school" screamed the young boy as he got further down the street to the number 8 house in their little neighborhood.

* * *

After a few minutes of waiting Serena finally made it out of her house. She looked dashing, already wearing her summer uniform. This one in particular Darien loved. Not only because it was much lighter in the fabric department but the skirt was a lot much shorter, courtesy of one Annaleigh Roberts whom, before she left to L.A., asked the headmaster to let her make some rearrangements on the school uniform…to give it a bit more fashionable twist. All the girls loved the new uniform and the guys weren't complaining either.

When Serena saw Darien standing by her front gate, waiting, she couldn't help but smile. She leaned into him and gave him a kiss, which she intended to keep light…since it was still morning and her father was still at gun's reach if he saw Darien kissing her like that; but she didn't care… she intended to give her perfect boyfriend the good morning kiss that he deserved.

"Morning" she whispered into his lips.

"Morning to you" Darien said moving his lips to her ear. "I got something for you my princess" and he moved his hands from her back to search something in his back pocket.

"What is it?" said Serena impatiently

"Patience my love" said Darien taking out from his pocket an envelope. He handled it to his very impatient girlfriend who couldn't hide the excitement from opening anything that Darien gave her as a present.

"You know…my birthday isn't this month" she said as a joke while opening the envelope. The white envelope held a letter that had Darien's neat handwriting. She read it, it just said:

**Care to play a game with me? Here is the first clue:**

**From now on, what's real, it may not.**

**What if I don't really ask but did anyway?**

**What if there was a change of plans and we didn't anymore?**

**Remember this is a game…if you win…there might be something else in the end**

**Pay attention, be aware.**

"What the hell is this? You've given me something written in Morse Code or something…I don't get it. Were you drunk while writing it? " said Serena handing back the letter to Darien

"Serena…it can't be written in Morse Code, and NO I wasn't drunk…plus the letter is now yours…believe me you will need it" said Darien giving back the letter. He could see how intently Serena was reading it over and over but couldn't get it…and he got a little worried; for everything to work, Serena needed to follow his clues. "Don't worry, you will get it"

"I better…because if this is a game…I'll win a price, right?" give it to Serena to just think about the things she is going to gain out of any situation.

"Yeah…if you win the game...if there is" said Darien mysteriously.

"Ahhh….so the game begins?" said Serena approaching Darien to kiss him

"Let the best one win" said Darien returning the kiss, which in a good couple of seconds were steaming up. "Sweetie as much as I enjoy kissing you, we do have class to go to and if I'm correct in about three minutes your dad will leave the house and then, there will be blood, and I'm afraid it's going to be yours"

"Not mine, yours" said Serena with a smile and so, dragging Darien by his arm to join her to their usual walk to school. Darien put his right arm around Serena's shoulders and both of them started walking to school.

It was Monday morning, so they had their usual free period for tutoring and finishing homework…but since Darien had become her tutor in almost every subject since the math incident a couple of years ago, Serena had very good grades. She still studied sometimes along with Amy and the others in Rei's shrine, and even Darien came along most of those times to help if he could, and if Amy didn't correct him.

So…Monday morning and a whole two hours to waste…Serena could have gone to find her friends, or even find Annaleigh and say _hi _since Darien told her during their walk that she had come back to school, but she had other plans for this free period, and it seemed that Darien had just read her mind. Just as they arrived to 10th City Academy they went to their little private place in school; they went to their roof.

Climbing up the staircase, hand in hand, Darien and Serena made it to the school's rooftop and as they opened the door, they revealed an unexpected scene.

The fence that surrounded the roof was full of red roses. Serena was amazed by the beauty that her eyes were allowing her to see. Little drops of dew were grazing the delicate petals of the ruby color flowers. She couldn't believe her eyes, she felt just like in heaven.

"Darien…Oh my god! This is…there are no words…Darien this is incredible" tried saying Serena.

"Glad that you liked it. I've been working on it for a few days now. The girls helped…this is kind of an early birthday present. You said that you were looking for a new drawing place…so this is it."

"Darien…this is amazing…Thanks so much" said Serena and suddenly the urge to finish what they started last night, but because of the late hour couldn't, kicked in. She jumped into Darien's arms and started showing him her appreciation. Serena started with a multiple of fiery kisses on his lips and neck. Darien didn't even realize when she put her legs around his hips. He responded to her kisses, they were delicious and very addicting. He started to take small steps back in direction of the roof's bench all the while returning Serena's luscious kisses. He barely made it to the bench and sat down on it. Serena began moving her hands from his neck to his head, holding onto strands of his hair and back to his neck again, looking for a way to hold on to him. Darien was moving his hands too, from the small of her back to her sides of her perfect body, pausing, but his mental battle was lost and his hands lowered to her thighs and returned to her back again.

Panting they separated for a second, his eyes locked on her sky blue orbs, looking at him through her lashes. Lust coated her gaze as it reigned in his as well, he tried to stop but epically failed at it. His lips looked desperately for hers. Hot and heavily meshing against each other's in an attempt at fusion. A sweetness of vanilla and the tanginess of cherries mixed to create her unique taste.

Darien kept kissing her, fighting for dominance as their tongues intertwined sexily. Serena tried to get more comfortable and arranged herself on his lap, unconsciously grinding onto Darien, causing a gasp to leave his lips. He tried to take it up a notch and allowed his hand to travel to the area that joined her thighs and her butt cheeks. He hastily removed it and Serena just moved it back to where it was. He opened his eyes in shock but after seeing her pretty face with a reddish hue coloring her cheeks he gave in and closed his eyes, resuming the massaging of her pure, virginal skin.

Gasps and moans exited and escaped their lips in the midst of their make out session and Serena backed up a bit. Staring at him with a sexy glint she kissed his cheek, his earlobe, his neck as her hands began tugging on his tie. His eyebrows creased as he took sharp intakes of breath.

"OH GOD! I, so, didn't want to see that!! Darien Shields ! Aren't you an 18 year old?! Should you be doing this?!" Annaleigh said after she had opened the door loudly, exclaiming as if her poor eyes had just been tainted. Darien reluctantly separated from Serena who was hiding her head in his chest, her cheeks probably blushing crimson due to the embarrassment of being caught in such a position.

Darien looked at Annaleigh with a slight glare that mainly showed annoyance and frustration.

"Yes, I am and I should be doing this! I clearly didn't plan on stopping until you came Leigh" he hissed playfully, however the annoyance was real.

"Why didn't you just lock the door, you great pervert?!!!" said Annaleigh to Darien still holding the door.

"Why didn't you just knock, you great nosy bitch?!!!" said Darien, losing his patience with each passing second.

"I didn't knock because, contrary to company's believe, this isn't a cheap hotel, this is still a school, someone else could have walked-in on you two" said Annaleigh but just as she said it, she had to close the door quickly so she could avoid been hit by Darien's shoe. From the other side of the door Darien could hear loud and clear how she was calling him a pervert, so he called her a nosy bitch right back.

"So…Annaleigh really is…back…" said Serena through all of her embarrassment

"Yeah…aren't you glad?" said Darien repressing his chuckles

"That wasn't the adjective I was going to use" said Serena still red face, looking down and pulling back down her skirt.

"So…I have to say…that was unexpected" said Darien laughing a bit

"Darien, you jerk!" said Serena punching him in the arm. "Don't laugh, this is horrible!" but even after the punch, he couldn't stop laughing. "Stop laughing" said Serena in absolute mortification. "Was this what you had in mind when you put the roses? To have a _private place?" _

"Hey! You were the one who started the make out session, plus, yeah that kind of was the idea" said Darien wiggling his eyebrows and pulling Serena back to him to kiss, but end up giving him in exchange a whole lot of punches in his arms and chest. Darien soon captured her little fists and tried kissing her then but when he saw her _really_ angry face, a feeling of thrill got into him; he was scared.

"Come on, Serena, it isn't the end of the world" said Darien, trying to win her with his innocent face and signature smile.

"Darien…don't be cute…" said Serena in full pout mode, but she still let her dashing boyfriend bring her close to him again. "I feel…I think I don't feel…am just mortified…"

"Serena…" said Darien smirking and she turned to see him and she just couldn't help but smile back.

* * *

Darien knew that Serena wasn't feeling just yet in the mood of going back to class, so he, being the perfect boyfriend and the worst student body president ever, gave Serena a free pass for the day, so she could spend it in her new rose garden, drawing all that she wanted, anything that she wanted.

The dew on the petals was just starting to sprinkle her because of the cool breeze, this intensified the powerful aroma of the roses. The sweet perfume surrounding her was making an enchantment. This enchantment was making her see visions, visions of her dreams.

A couple…, long time ago…, a masquerade…, a beautiful white dress…, a white mask…, a red rose. A dream, right?

The moon…, the moonlight…, the uncommonly known song…, the dance…

Serena started sketching, she didn't want to forget such a gorgeous vision. She kept on drawing until lunch, she was on a mission; she wanted to finish her dream. But then, something came up…well actually it was someone, or more accurately several someone's.

"Serena, are you up here?" said Mina's voice from the other side of the door knocking a couple of times.

"Mina…where could she possible be other than up here?" said Rei's voice which Serena recognized as the one that was opening the rooftop's door.

"Come in girls!" said Serena putting away her drawing kit.

"Hi Serena! We brought you lunch" said Lita showing her a big lunch box which, judging by the smell, had her name on it.

"And homework" showed Amy. Serena smiled at her friends and immediately jumped to hug them.

"I can't believe that you guys helped him…I can't thank you guys enough…This place looks unbelievable" said Serena while bringing Lita, Amy, Mina and Rei in a tight embrace.

"It was nothing Serena, we are glad that you like it" said Lita giggling

"What are you talking about? It took us forever to finish!!!" barked Rei stepping out of the hug.

"Oh, shut up Rei, you are just jealous because Nick has never done anything like this for you" Mina said angrily to Rei, whom in returned simply turned red and said: "I don't care about those things"

"If it helps you through the night" said Mina

"Jeez guys, cut it out already" said Lita separating Mina and Rei from each other and bringing them to the picnic area that both Amy and Serena were assembling.

"So…how are you liking the place?" asked Amy to Serena

"It looks like one of my dreams" said Serena blushing a bit when she remembered a similar scene from one of her dreams that she had confine to her boyfriend just a couple of weeks earlier. "I told Darien that I had dreamt that I met him in a garden full of roses, I was wearing this fluffy blue and purple dress and that he was waiting for me in the middle of the garden. He looked so handsome, he was wearing a tuxedo and a white jacket. But I woke up…I'm not sure what exactly happened then"

"I think it's so romantic that he had done this. You are so lucky, he loves you so much…" said Amy and just then the rest of the girls joined them to eat their lunch. Mina then looked at Rei, gave a nod, Rei looked at Amy and gave her a nod and finally, without Serena noticing anything Amy gave a nod to Lita who nodded to Mina in exchange.

"So…what are the plans for Saturday night?" asked Mina opening her lunch box, revealing a delicious looking chicken salad sandwich.

"Well…prom starts around 7:00pm. Does Andrew have to be here earlier?" asked Amy to Lita.

"No, actually, we were thinking in renting a limo, a big one" said Lita taking a bit out of a piece of her home-made popcorn shrimp.

"How many of us are going?" asked Mina

"Well…there's me and Greg, you and Scott, Andrew and Lita, Nate is taking Lizzie. What about you Rei?" asked Amy

"I actually have to be here earlier, since I'm in charge of the entertainment committee, Nick told me that he would come and help me settle the equipment for my performance" said Rei and then put a piece of her California Roll in her mouth.

"How much equipment are we talking about?" asked Lita

"You know…just the necessary. It has to be perfect, I don't want to make a fool out of myself so it has to be great" said Rei and then started laughing a tad arrogantly, moving her hand next to her cheek, like pretending to already be a superstar.

"Rei…you do know that you are just singing _a_ song, right?" said Mina bursting Rei's little bubble.

"Will you shut-up Mina?" Rei said letting all of her irritation be known in her tone.

"Just, keeping it real…" said Mina laughing a bit

"And what about you Serena? What are the big plans with Darien? Do you want to ride with us?" asked Amy noticing just now how Serena hadn't even touch the sandwich that Lita had prepared for her. "What happened Serena? Is there something wrong?" asked Amy moving from her spot to Serena's side and touching Serena's forehead with her hand, looking for a high temperature that would explain why she hadn't touch her meal.

Serena moved her head and looked Amy straight in the eyes. Amy could see how Serena was trying to keep her tears for herself but was about to fail. "He hasn't said anything to me about prom" Serena's low voice was heard by her friends, and after that silence reigned over them.

"Well… maybe he forgot, with all of the preparations of your garden…I'm sure he is going" said Amy, brushing her hand over Serena's arm while she was letting out a single sob.

"Yeah Serena, Darien wouldn't miss his own prom" said Lita

"Guys…" said Rei to call for attention "I'm not so sure about it" she said brushing her arm with her hand and looking down.

"What do you mean?" asked Serena desperately "Do you think he invited someone else?"

"Well…Annaleigh is back…" said Mina

"Mina! Shut-up, Darien would never do that to Serena. Plus, why would he have invited someone else?" said Lita throwing a shrimp to Mina in sign of protest for her false accusations.

"Well…I'm just saying that it might be right…Annaleigh has always have a puppy-love-crush towards Darien and he did kiss her that one time" said Mina

"Mina…" called Amy in a low voice. Serena was clearly uncomfortable by the whole situation.

"No…Darien would never invite someone else…what am I thinking" said Serena shaking her head from side to side. "Maybe he just forgot to tell me, that's all"

"Serena, he didn't forget, I think that he is not going" said Rei seriously. Serena listen carefully but then chuckled, 'Darien? Not going to prom? Yeah…right!' Serena thought. "Serena I'm serious, he hasn't bought the tickets. I'm on the committee, remember?"

"Well…maybe he asked someone else to buy them for him, he is very busy" said Serena trying to convince herself of what she was defending.

"Serena, but that's a personal affair. The new headmaster assistant said that the seniors and the juniors had to make to arraignments for themselves" said Lita "I mean, Andrew and Nate bought the tickets ages ago"

"Well…maybe he didn't even need to do anything. I mean, you know how people are around Darien; they do anything that he wants to. I'm sure that he could just snap his fingers and he would have the tickets" said Serena, still blind-sighted.

"How? Tickets sold out two weeks ago" said Rei

"Well…he is the student body president, he has to be there!" said Serena losing her patience. "I'm sure that this is just a misunderstanding" Serena said raising her voice with each word.

"Ok!" snapped Amy "I'm sure that Serena is right. Come on, Rei, let us not spoil Serena her present" said Amy moving behind Serena so she could brush both Serena's arms with her hands in an almost useless attempt to sued her.

* * *

Serena and her friends finished lunch in silence and then climbed down the stairs to go back to class. Serena spotted Annaleigh at her old locker, looking at her reflection on her little locker-door mirror, she was applying some Cover Girl Citrulicious Outlast Lipstain and making sure that her light brown curls looked just right.

"You know, that wasn't exactly the image that I wanted to have for the rest of the day" said Annaleigh, who hadn't taken her eyes out of her mirror but still said it once she sensed Serena near her.

"And believe me, that wasn't exactly the image that I wanted to give to anyone…You know…you _should_ knock the next time" said Serena trying to make a joke throughout all the embarrassment that her face showed.

"So…what you are saying is that there will be a next time…I wouldn't have taken you for such a naughty girl, Serena" said Annaleigh looking at Serena with a sultry smile and wiggling eyebrows.

"Shut-up…Leigh" said Serena turning even redder if possible. "So…how are your sisters?"

"Amber is good, finishing college and Abby is great, about to turn six…collecting every single merchandise of your famous friends.

"She loves them, doesn't she?"

"Specially Seiya"

"Yeah well…they do have a number 1 hit song on the radio"

"Jeez…_Shooting Star_, want to hear something funny? That's actually featured in the soundtrack of a my next movie"

"Awwww…that's so cute. So…are they coming for prom? Taiki and the others?" asked Serena innocently

"I don't know…I haven't talked to them in a while… I usually IM with Yaten, but they have been so busy with the summer tour preps that I haven't heard from them"

"Yeah…I haven't heard from them either, but I guess it's ok…I hope they can make it to prom…I would love to see them before this summer in the camp"

"Are they still going to make it to Blue Bear?"

"Well, they better! It's tradition!"

"I guess so… well I have to get class…see you around Serena"

"Wait Leigh! I was meaning to ask you…can you come with me to pick my dress for Saturday, I still haven't got it"

"Your dress for what?" asked Annaleigh with a confused expression on her face

"Well…prom you silly. You are coming, right?"

"Sweetie, Saturday is my movie premier" said Annaleigh "Darien didn't tell you?"

"No…actually…he hasn't even…" said Serena but before she could say it again, that her boyfriend had forgotten to invite her to the event of the year, so she started guessing some other possibilities. "Who are you taking to the premier?"

"Darien really didn't tell you anything right? Well…you will hear the rumors by Friday, don't worry… but we are just going as friends…for now"

"What?"

"Listen, we'll catch up later, I really have to get to class. Bye Serena!" and with a simple wave Annaleigh left Serena alone with her questions on the school corridor.

After her conversation with Annaleigh, Serena went to her Spanish and IT classes. By 2:30 pm that day classes had ended and so Serena returned to her locker to put away her books and grabbed her homework. Usually her locker serve as well as the official "wait for Darien to walk back home" spot; only that today Darien was taking longer than usual.

Finally he showed up, 15 minutes later if I may add…

"Hi! Sorry I'm so late… I was just talking to Collins in the Headmaster's office" said Darien bringing Serena into a hug and giving her a kiss on her forehead.

"What did he wanted?" asked Serena

"Nothing too important, just arranging some stuff for the last game of the season"

"Oh, I see…Darien I bumped into Annaleigh after lunch" said Serena

"Really, what did she said about this morning" said Darien repressing a laugh

"Nothing" Serena said quickly. "Did you know that her movie premier is this Saturday?" asked Serena in a demanding tone.

"Yeah…she told me"

"Right…she told you…" Serena didn't like were this was going…could he possibly be going with Annaleigh to the premier? Would Darien leave Serena alone…? She knew that prom wasn't really a big deal for him, but it kind of was her favorite party of the season. She loved the idea of getting ready, having to go to the hair dresser, wear make-up, find the perfect dress and the shoes that match the outfit, borrow her mom's jewelry, dancing with Darien and having an excuse to look at him wearing a tux. She loved prom night…and she loved the idea of sharing such an important event with the love of her life…but it just seemed that it wasn't going to happen…

"So…I don't mean to spoil any surprise that you have in store for me but… what exactly is the plan for Saturday night?" asked Serena with her most innocent/spoiled voice, which in most cases won her several treats from behave of her friends.

"Saturday night?" asked Darien who appeared to be very confused by the question.

"Oh, come on, don't tell me you from all people forgot that next Saturday is _your_ senior prom" said Serena, and a bit frustration was let out in that statement.

"No…I didn't forgot that it was prom…but sweetie…did you forgot that I told you 2 months ago that I had already plans for that night?" said Darien. Just as the words left his mouth Serena's stomach was starting to make several turns. Her face redden, her eyes water just a little bit, her palms started to sweat and an intense chill invaded her spine making her feel goose bumps all over her body.

"I'm sorry…I forgot…" she said in a low voice and then lowered her face so Darien couldn't see how unbelievable ashamed she was. Darien then stopped walking and with his right hand on Serena's chin moved it upwards. He smiled at her.

"Did you want to go?" he asked her.

"It's ok…I'm not going without you" she said

"Hey…if you want to go…it's ok. Just because I have plans it doesn't mean that you can't go. Andrew told me that he has plans with Lita and the others, do you want to join them?"

"I'm not even a junior…plus, it was something that I wanted to share with you" said Serena and that made Darien sigh.

"I'm sorry" said Darien

"Don't worry…" Serena said shrugging her shoulders.

Darien didn't add anything else; he just retook Serena's hand and started walking back in direction to Serena's house. The walk back to Serena's was flooded by an awkward silence. Darien really couldn't say anything, because it would spoil the big surprise that he had in store for her and Serena didn't want to say anything or ask anything else because she felt that, if Darien didn't want to share again his plans then it wasn't up to her to pry.

They arrived to Serena's and were welcomed by both their mothers. Elizabeth was talking with Ikuko in the kitchen, drinking tea while they waited for another batch of cookies leave the oven. They could hear from the kitchen how Debbie, Darien's little sister was playing around with their little twin cousins Nate and Natalie.

Both Serena and Darien went to say hi to their mothers and stole some of the ready-to-eat cookies. Then, they left the kitchen and went to the living room and left their back-packs there. Serena was about to leave the room to go upstairs and grab her laptop when Darien asked if he could go with her. Serena rejected the offer, particularly because she was upset and wanted Darien to know just how much. Usually they went upstairs together to look for her laptop and ended up in her bed making-out.

Darien knew that Serena's rejection wasn't a good sign. She usually wouldn't pass-up an opportunity to make-out, let alone kiss him…this meant that she was mad…very mad. But maybe the end could justify the means…at the very least in this situation…he hoped.

Once they finished their homework they turned on the T.V. They started watching the six o-clock news when Ken arrived home and waved hello at them, then Sammy returned home from Elena's, and finally James, John and Silvia came to joined the Tsukino's for dinner. Throughout the dinner Serena still didn't said much, another very bad sign; and then around 8, when the Shields were taking off, Serena barely kiss Darien goodbye.

"Is everything ok Buns?" Darien asked

"Peachy" Serena said bitterly

"Hey, are you still upset about prom? Because if you want to go…"

"No! I'm not angry at you. I'm just angry at myself that like always I must have spaced out and forgot that you had plans…I actually has looking up to it" Darien hugged Serena and allowed himself to breath in her delicious perfume.

He whispered in her ear that he loved her more than she could imagine and that he was sorry for disappointing her.

"You didn't" she answered him

"Please…you were looking up for it"

"So what…it's not the end of the world…I still have my own proms to go to. And to those you better show up to, cause if you don't we will have trouble" said Serena in a much lighter tone and mood. She hugged Darien tighter and breath in his intoxication scent, cherry wood and roses. She then put her head on his chest and said that she would wait for him to arrive to her bedroom later that night.

Around 11:30 that evening Darien came through her balcony's door. She was already wearing a pajama set, laying down on her bed, listening to her ipod and reading a popular vampire romance novel that everybody couldn't stop talking about. Darien lay next to her; she mumbled something about of waiting for her to finish the chapter. Darien moved his head and rested it and her shoulder so he could read the novel too.

"You are the slowest reader ever" he said and she simply shushed him.

"Edward's an idiot" he said

"Shut up, I love him!" she said scolding him

"Hey…I thought that you _only_ loved me" he said in a playful tone tickling her

"Don't worry, you are on my top 10" she said still not taking her eyes off from the book, but then Darien's tickling got worse and she, against her consent, left the book forgotten in the floor.

The tickling fight finished as soon as Darien's lips found hers. They exchanged sweet and innocent kisses for a while. Darien moved so that Serena rested on top of him. They were keeping the kisses long but not as hot and spicy as the ones in the roof that very morning. Their tongues more than fighting were dancing together, exploring new places, getting familiar with their new favorite spots.

Their hands were moving slowly, like memorizing each and every single inch of their uncovered skin. When the kisses started to get slower and slower, Serena moved herself to Darien's side. They got beneath her covers and cuddled for the rest of the night.

Around 1:30, just after Serena dozed off, Darien moved from her side and returned back to his house.

* * *

Tuesday was spent almost the same, with the slight difference that there was no free period and the note that Serena found on her locker after lunch.

**A friend's Crown resting place.**

**Leave it for the swimmer's table.**

**Beef or chicken?**

'He was definitely drunk while writing this stuff' Serena thought and tossed the note inside her bag.

Since Darien had detention hall to attend and for some kind of miracle Serena didn't had detention, she went to The Crown with her friends after school. They arrived and Lita immediately left the party to join Andrew in the other side of the counter. Lita order for everyone and soon she joined the girls again in the second floor.

Rei and Mina went to play an American Idol match on the Wii area, while Amy and Lita looked for a free table near the video games so they could watch closely the diva fight.

Serena skimmed hesitantly the video games that were in the second floor, looking for something that might look like the letter or the note that she had received from Darien. She found nothing.

She then decided to look down stairs, in the dining area, specifically the table's that she knew that were the usual hanging-out spots of the Swimming Team…again nothing.

When she was starting to look in the occupied tables Lizzie came to her side and asked what the hell she was doing freaking out the costumers. A very embarrassed Serena said that she was looking for a note that Darien had left her, but Lizzie didn't seem to know about it. After finishing looking around the diner, Serena helped both Andrew and Lizzie to take upstairs their order. Once they took upstairs the order Andrew said to Lizzie that he was taking his break and invited Lita to play a match of pool. That's when it clicked. Of course! Pool! So simple!

Serena ran to Andrew's favorite pool table before they even got up from their chair. Underneath the table Serena found a picture of a cute looking hen and a cute picture of a cow. 'Beef or chicken?' she thought. 'I don't know…what should I do to tell him? Well…I guess chicken…you can't go wrong with chicken. But if I take away the chicken what could it mean, that I want it or not? And if I have to handle it?" she continued to battle with questions. 'Damn this game is difficult! The price better be worth it' and then Lita and Andrew arrived to the table and bent down and asked her if anything was wrong.

"Leave it to the swimmer's table" she said out loud

"Serena, are you ok?" asked Andrew

"Yes…just give me a sec" said Serena taking away the picture of the cow. She crawled off from underneath the table and smiled at her friends. "Don't ask…I'm playing a game with Darien"

"Hide and seek? You know it only works if you stay hidden, right?" asked Andrew

"Ha ha, very funny Andrew" said Serena and she returned to her table and finished her fries and shake, her typical Crown order.

On Wednesday, Ikuko told Serena that she had won a price in the local supermarket raffle. She had gotten a 2x1 appointment in Sally's Salon, hairstylist and make-up artist extraordinaire. Ikuko told Serena that she wanted to take her to the salon so they could have a mom-daughter day. Serena was very excited about the idea, plus, it gave Serena something to do in her newly freed day.

* * *

On Thursday she received another note...this had a different handwriting, also male. Serena could tell 'cause it was particularly messy, but she didn't recognized it from any of her friends.

_Serena,_

_I know that I really don't have a right to say anything, not even to write you a letter. But my time is running out and I don't want to have any regrets._

_The first time that I saw your face it was like I've seen an angel. I couldn't see anyone else but you. Every time I see your smile it warms up my heart and every time I hear you laugh it makes me think that nothing wrong can go on in the world._

_I wanted to tell you that for a long time now I've had a huge crush on you. I think that you are the most beautiful girl in the world, I seriously think you are._

_Next fall I'll leave 10th City and go to college but I don't want to leave without the opportunity of dancing with you and telling you how much I like you._

_Please accept my invitation to be my date to prom._

_My perfect little angel, accepting would make my ultimate dream come true. Please, give me only a chance to see you up close, to dance, to give you a rose._

_T. K._

(Oh oh)

Instead of going to The Crown, Serena convinced the girls to go to Rei's place. Serena read the letter to the girls and waited for them to say something, anything.

"Oh my God! That is so romantic! Serena has a secret admirer" said Mina dreamingly

"Mina! Only you could think this is a good thing, what if it is a rapist?" said Rei taking the letter away from Serena's hand an examining it carefully with her extra sensorial ability.

"What do you see Rei?" asked Amy

"It's written with love" said Rei in a low voice and a hint of jealousy.

"So…what are you going to do about it Serena, are you going to tell Darien?" asked Lita

"No" Serena simply said

"But don't you want to meet this guy, what if he is hotter than Darien?" asked Mina

"No, and it's impossible for anyone to be more handsome than Darien" said Serena

"But…" started to protest Mina but was interrupted by Serena again

"Mina, I love Darien. Plus…I don't want to go with someone else. I want to be a part of Darien's life, not T. K's or whoever he is. Let's just leave this, ok?" and with that, the subject was dropped.

* * *

That same evening Annaleigh came to Serena's for a quick visit. She brought along a huge bag and some boxes that seemed to hold some shoes and some other stuff.

"So…my publicist is not the brighter gem out there" said Annaleigh walking through the door and going straight to the living room.

"Hi Leigh, make yourself at home" said Serena behind her. Of course, Annaleigh ignored the sarcasm and continued walking. "What happened?"

"The dress for my NY premier was supposed to arrive today and what do I found? The dress that was costumed made has the all the wrong measurements" she said taking the garment bag, unzipping it and revealing the most beautiful dress Serena had ever seen; fluffy, purple and blue.

"It gorgeous" Serena breathed out once she saw it.

"Of course it is…I designed it…but it doesn't matter since its way too short for me" said Annaleigh throwing the dress to the couch.

"So…what are you going to do? Wear flats?"

"Nooooo…wear flats, are you crazy? No, I have a back-up outfit…but I have to do something about this one, and it is to hem it so it would be shorter or give it away….and it would lose the train if I hem it…so I'm giving it away to the shorter person that I know…so where's your brother"

Serena laughed and hugged Annaleigh and then hit her arm lightly. "And you still ask why is it that he doesn't like you?"

The rest of the evening Annaleigh helped Serena to try on the dress and it fitted Serena like a glove (wonder why?). Serena couldn't believe her luck…she owned her dream dress…literally.

* * *

Everything was great. Serena had a new dress, an appointment in the hottest salon in town, new shoes, new accessories, and a boyfriend that she loved…but then Friday afternoon came and everything went to hell.

Serena was already in a mood since her morning walk to school. She had heard Darien talking to someone and talking with his flirty voice to the person in the other side of the receiver and making some kind of plans for Saturday. She was particularly cranky because she thought that Darien reserved that voice only for her…evidently she was wrong. And then there was the unimaginably huge urge that she was suppressing to ask him what the hell where his plans, but she thought that a good girlfriend wouldn't pry…so she decided to spy.

Just as the school bell rang announcing the end of the classes she went to her locker as usual and inside found another envelope, a bigger one. Inside this she found a mask filled with silver color sequins and a ticket to prom. In the ticket's backside she found T. K.'s handwriting.

_Please come my angel,_

_I'll be waiting for you of the rooftop at 6:30pm_

_T.K._

And just as Serena finished reading something caught her eye. In the other end of the locker row there was Darien talking very cozily to Annaleigh. And then she saw what she thought was Darien getting awfully close to Annaleigh's neck. Damn E! News! They knew nothing about Leigh Roberts, she wasn't dating her co-star; she was dating her boyfriend behind her back!

The time that took Serena to put the envelope inside her bag was enough for both Darien and Annaleigh to disappear from their previous spot.

Serena ran through the sea of people, to see if she could catch the traitors but she didn't find them. Then she noticed that the door that had access to the rooftop was hanging open. She ran to it and started climbing up until she arrived to the door.

"Come on…no one will find out" Serena heard Annaleigh say in the lightest of tones…as if she weren't betraying her heart. Serena didn't want to hear anything else; she let one tear fall and started running back home.

'Darien…how could you?!' Serena thought.

* * *

Serena ignored every single call from Darien's cell and home number and if Darien hadn't got the message that way, for the first time in years she close her balcony's door.

She was mad… no she was furious.

So… Saturday evening, against her better judgment she found herself at 6:30 pm on the school's rooftop. She was wearing Annaleigh's dress; it was too beautiful to go to waste. During her salon's appointment she decided to get the Special Treatment and have her hair done, her nails and her make-up too. She looked just like in her dream and she added to the outfit T. K.'s sequin mask.

While she waited for her secret admirer she started to smell her roses…they were today even more beautiful than earlier that week if possible. She said goodbye to her roses, she couldn't see them the same way now that she knew of Darien's treason. She would miss her place, her own private place, her drawing place, her birthday present.

"You came" said a voice from behind her. Serena turned and saw something that she wasn't prepared to see. Mina was right, T.K. was hotter than Darien.

He was wearing a tux and a white jacket, just like in her dream. He also has wearing a mask, a white one, and holding in his hands a plastic box which contained a corsage made fully of red roses.

"I did" Serena whispered with difficulty at seen such a vision of perfection.

"You look lovely Serena"

"This is not fair…I don't know who you are"

"But you do" he said approaching Serena and in one quick move he put the corsage in her right wrist. T.K. took the chance of having touched Serena's soft skin and took her hand into one of his, while the other was positioned on the small of her back. His eyes locked on hers and they started to move so very slowly for what seemed an eternity. Serena didn't knew if it was all of her madness towards Darien or the fact that this incredibly handsome guy had shown interest in her, but she was dazzled and just plain overwhelmed by everything. The scent of this guy was awfully familiar though, like cherry wood and roses.

"Why do I feel so safe with you?" Serena said in the lowest of voices "I wish I could stay here forever"

"Forever if I can…my sweet angel" he whispered making Serena's open wide her eyes. She let her reason go and gave into her senses. She kissed him…

T.K. didn't lasted half a second to respond to the kiss. He embraced her tighter, looking for some kind of way to keep contact with her. His dominance was shown as soon as his tongue slipped into her mouth. He moved to breathe for a second and continued ravishing her mouth and neck, marking her in any way he could. Serena moved her numbed arms and locked them around his neck, while he moved his arms over the delicious exposed skin of her back. Suddenly Serena broke the kiss to mumble some things under her breath that T. K. couldn't possibly understand and then move to kiss his neck again.

"Darien…I love you" said Serena louder this time. T.K. froze and moved his head so he could see her eyes.

"You won" he said and then Serena kissed him again. As soon as the kiss finished she moved her arms form his neck and took his mask away.

"I love you" Serena said

"When did you figure it out?"

"Once I realized that you had already made plans for today"

"You did not"

"Yes I did!" Serena said

"Nooooo…you did not, then why didn't you answer my calls or texts?"

"Because I wanted to make you suffer" Serena said to her boyfriend in a playful tone and gave him a sweet little kiss on his lips.

"So…want to go to prom?" asked Darien as Serena took of her mask and she nodded to his request.

Once in the newly decorated gym Serena found her friends and bashed them for not telling her about Darien's plan. She then noticed that her friends, the Three Lights were playing as a graduation present to the 2010 class and soon Rei joined them in stage to sing her song.

"This is for all the love birds here tonight. Congratulations, all of you. This is _Who knew_"

Just as Darien was about to take Serena to the dance floor someone touch her arm, looking to call her attention.

"The dress fits you!" said Annaleigh's voice from behind her

"I thought you had a premier to go to" said Serena turning around

"Yeah…but it's a midnight premier, I'm just here until they announce King and Queen"

"Yeah? Who did you voted for?"

"Michiru and Haruka of course" said Annaleigh brightly like if it was the easiest question ever. Serena responded with a smile as bright as hers. "By the way, let me introduce you to my date…" Annaleigh touched the tall guy's back that was standing right by her side so he could turn. The moment he turned Serena looked down to check if she was still dressed (for some reason she did that a lot). "Arthur this is my friend Serena. Serena…" and Serena looked up again. "this is Arthur…"

"Novak" Serena said without thinking once she fully saw him. (Oh my God! E! was right)

"Hi, Serena. It's a pleasure to meet you" he said smiling, leaving Serena a tingling in her knees as soon as she heard him saying her name.

"Nice to meet you too" she said after a good 10 seconds later.

"Well…I'll leave you and Darien to your dance" Annaleigh said and took Arthur Novak's hand and lead him to the dance floor.

"He is actually a great guy, I met him yesterday, and he helped me pick up the roses for the corsage" said Darien from Serena's back. She turned and hugged him, gave him a kiss and took his hands. Darien then made her do some kind of complicated turn and dipped her.

If someone say three years from now

"I love you Serena" Darien said

"I love you Darien" Serena said and with that they blend in a warm and much needed kiss.

You'd be long gone. I'd stand up and punch them out, coz they are all wrong.

I know better, coz you said forever, and ever

Who knew?

_Love is a splendid thing_

_

* * *

_Other Notes:

I would like very much to announce that I'm starting a weekly segment in my blog for everything _Haven't you had enough? _related_  
_

Also, and I don't mean to discourage my lovely BFF, whom has been such a terrific "beta", but I do have another project in mind and I do need help...again, I'm an amateur when it comes to writing, so I'm kind of shopping for a beta...if anyone here is interested...let me know...pretty please. Kathy has done wonderfully, taking in consideration that she has never watched a single Sailor Moon episode (I know right?), but this other project, I'm afraid is going to be bigger than anything that I've done already and I'll hate to take any more time from her, she also is busy with college, and...sometimes college has to come first.

And in a much important matter, we have reached...let's call it the middle part of the movie...so I think it's pretty much countdown from now on...I think. (I might change my mind).

Mmmmm....what else...

Oooo, yeah! I almost forgot! Please review so I can explain the 1000 questions that must be popping around in your heads right now...and remember to visit the blog, pretty please.

Bye! seeya! (I promise that I won't take forever to update from now on...I hope)

P.S. Serena's prom dress will be feature in my profile, go check it out.


	16. Chapter 16

Remember how last chapter was named Who knew?...well for those who didn't (LOL, get it? who didn't knew?...jeez...a little laugh won't hurt anyone)

this one will explain...not that much...and I really hope that this won't be my last chapter until Christmas...

you see...I did the most stupid thing ever...I entered into a link that was a virus which infected my pc and from a simple virus...it got complicated and I think my pc had like neumonia or something and then it was like a coma and then it got to something called the blue screen of death (Gigi, don't you dare laugh at me....and don't tell me I told you so).

but problem isn't that I don't have where to write... it's more like I'm obsessed right now with The Sims 2... and from where I'm looking the story right now... which is like a page more than what you'll read today...I have no idea how to solve this mess...I how the story will end but I have no idea how to solve this thing that will start in this chapter and will explode in the next one...so before I bore you all to death with my silliness here is to you all my early present...enjoy

* * *

Chapter #16 While Darien was sleeping

Betty, the school nurse, started working in 10th City Academy 10 years ago. During all her years working in the prestigious school she had attended several minor injuries of the kids who studied there. Sometimes she would get a cheerleader that hurt her ankle during practice, a baseball player who got hit with the ball by accident, she even helped a student who got burned during an unfortunate incident in Cooking class; but not once in her 10 years she had attended a student who got hurt during soccer practice. This particular team was known by their camaraderie, all of their members were good friends, well most of them and not once had there been an incident where a team member got hurt this bad.

She was now cleaning up the wound in Darien's head. He seemed to be having a very nice dream since he looked sooooo peaceful.

"Serena, darling, are you sure you want to stay here waiting for him to wake up? I think his parents are going to take him to the hospital any way" said Betty to the girl that was now sitting in the chair besides the hospital gurney inside the Infirmary.

"Yeah…I'm staying. Annaleigh hasn't come back yet, and I don't want him to be alone" said the blonde girl rearranging her position in the particularly uncomfortable chair.

"Well…if you need me I'll be in the front office. Call me if he wakes up" said Betty touching for a second Serena's shoulder, and then she left to the front office of the school's Infirmary.

Once Betty left, Serena moved to Darien's side in the gurney. She took Darien's hand and started massaging it. "Darien, please wake up. It's not funny…You know…this is not the first time we've been in this situation…and believe me, last time it was worse, so just wake up……….This is all my fault, I wish I could tell you…what happened, I wish I could be brave enough. I'm so sorry about the accident, it was my fault."

Just as Serena finished saying that in a low voice she started shedding tears.

Problem wasn't that she was crying by Darien's side, problem was that someone was watching. From the door that separated the Infirmary's office from its consult room, Diamond Blackmoon stood. Once he saw Serena crying he left the Infirmary.

Diamond Blackmoon stepped outside and saw how Annaleigh Roberts was about 10 feet away, looking the other side talking to her cell phone.

"I'm sure he is ok Silvia" said Annaleigh, all the while Diamond stood nearby to hear. "He hasn't wake up yet, but I'm sure he is just knocked down…..yeah I think it would be best to take him to the hospital…yeah, at least to make sure nothing is wrong……….no…a friend is with him right now….yeah, don't worry…I'll be here…yeah call John…yeah…Silvia stop freaking out! Calm down…I'll be with him…yeah, just get here, ok? Fine….see you later" said Annaleigh as she closed her cell.

"I thought it was against school policy the use of cell phones during school hours" said Diamond leaning against a wall, speaking towards Annaleigh.

"So?" said Annaleigh turning to see him.

"I'll hate to see such a beautiful girl held in detention" said Diamond with a smirk on his face, one which Annaleigh was trying with all her will not to punch out of his face. She knew it was him…it had to be him; no one else would even begin to imagine doing Darien any kind of wrong.

"Give me one perfectly good reason not to expel you in this instant" hissed the brunette.

"Well" he said as he took one step towards her and got awfully close into her personal space, Annaleigh tried taking one step back but simply crashed with the wall. "Since that idiot you called boyfriend hit me I got very…curious… with that delicious thing he pretends to protect. Funny thing that I've noticed…you protect her too…but it didn't make any sense…not until now"

"What are you talking about? And get away from me!" said Annaleigh trying to pass away from him.

"I know about the accident!" said Diamond taking Annaleigh's hand and pushing her back to the wall, which cause for her to hit her head really hard. "I know everything" he whispered into her ear, Annaleigh couldn't helped but shivered…she shivered not only because of her situation right now, but because the lunch break had already finished and class had already started; and of course, just because things need to get a little more interesting here, the infirmary was located in a very secluded location in the school. She was alone in a corridor were people hardly had to come to.

"Don't underestimate my patience…You know nothing…" she said to him while trying to stomp his foot. Diamond dodged her foot easily and then he pressed himself into her body making it impossible for Annaleigh to move, he also took both her hands and pressed them into the wall.

"But Seiya Kou knows right?" that made Annaleigh froze right there "That's what I thought" said Diamond chuckling into Annaleigh's ear as he moved one of his hands up touching the sides of her body, neck and hair. "And your little friend Serena knows too….right?"

"You are bluffing" said Annaleigh coldly.

"Am I?" he said kissing her neck, Annaleigh closed her eyes, took a deep breath and suppressed her will to start crying, yelling and all the most just being sick by how disgusted she felt. "Seiya told me everything…plus I heard her said it to your boyfriend just now…how sweet? I wonder what he'll think when I tell him that the sweet little girl he has a crush on was the reason he lost his parents and all of her memories" Diamond said in a condescending tone. (Shit, shit…oooooooo shit!!!!!)

"Get your filthy hands away from me right now" said Annaleigh in a low voice but full of venom and rage.

Diamond ignored her and simply kept touching the sides of her body and hair. "One thing I don't get is why do you protect them so much? Haven't you had enough, Annaleigh? That just like the movie, he is not that into you? He is into that girl…but why do you keep the truth from him? Don't you realize that if you tell him, he is finally going to be with you?" Annaleigh was stuck…she wasn't counting on someone else finding out…this was clearly an example that it was almost impossible to control everything, to control everyone…almost…she really had to think quick.

"I had to say…it felt good to know that not only I hate that asshole, glad to see Collins hates him too…apparently the new kid has something against him also" said Diamond turning to see Annaleigh's face. "He's going down…and if you're smart you'll leave him for me" just as Diamond said that, it cause Annaleigh to laugh. Diamond looked at her as if she was crazy…what could he have said be funny? "What's so funny?"

"You. You are funny and pathetic. Do you honestly think that you could do something against him in my school? Think again loser! You are so done here! First mistake was to even see her, but Darien took care of that, so I thought that you could not be so idiotic to do something again. Second mistake was that you actually did…you hurt him, you pathetic rat. Third mistake was to mess with me" and with that Annaleigh, with all her strength moved her knee upward into his groin.

"Fucking bitch!" Diamond yelled once Annaleigh kicked him

"Yes I am, and you mess with the wrong one you asshole!" said Annaleigh and she started to walk away from him, he was thrown in the floor taking pity into his poor self and trying to get some air into his system.

"Do you really think this is going to stop me from telling him?" said Diamond, still in the floor, trying to stand up, holding with one hand his lower stomach and with the other supporting himself against the wall.

"Go ahead! Tell him! Make my day! Like you said, Darien will be mine once he knows…what are you waiting for? Tell him…see if he believes you" yelled Annaleigh at him with so much rage…but she knew the idiot…plus she bluffed way better than him…luckily. "Oh…by the way you moron, you are suspended, three months…effective immediately"

"You'll need proof to file out a complaint against me"

"What are you talking about?" Annaleigh asked

"Sexual harassment? That's why I'm suspended, right? Well, you'll need proof"

"All the proof I need is in that security camera…" said Annaleigh

"But, that's not why you are suspended…Student Hazing…the Captain of the soccer team…student body president…the tape in the security camera I'll use to completely destroy you if you ever speak to either Darien or Serena ever again, and that's a promise I intend to keep…You can go now" said Annaleigh with a smile in her face after signaling the security camera in the end of the hallway, the one that was…out of service but conveniently enough Annaleigh knew but Diamond didn't. (Talking about bluffing…she is the Queen for a very good reason).

She then flew to the nearest restroom, not caring one bit that it was a boy's restroom. Once in the restroom she lost it. She opened every single faucet and let the water run throw them. Once the room was full of noise she started crying and yelling and hitting the doors of the bathroom stalls. She felt unimaginably bad; she felt touched, she felt used, she felt like something that creep could just use. Who the hell did Diamond Blackmoon thought he was? But that was nothing compared to the genuine fear she felt by being corner and the helplessness that she felt when she realized that there wasn't much she could do to defend herself. She wanted to take a shower she felt so…dirty…in a very bad way.

Once the energy fled from her she stumble and fell to the ground. She remain in the floor for a good half hour until a first year boy entered the bathroom and froze when he saw her sitting in the floor, leaning against the wall, knees raised at the level of her chest and crying.

"What are you staring at? Get lost!" yelled Annaleigh at the boy, who out of fear ran for his life.

After that she decided to get up and put herself together. She fixed her hair, make-up and outfit and exited from the boy's restroom without been noticed.

She took out her cell phone and made a call.

"Los Angeles…Miller Gold Talent Agency…

Ari Gold please…"

"Miller Gold Agency" spoke a man's voice which was kind of sweet and gave a gayish vibe.

"Hi this is Annaleigh Roberts…Spencer Roberts daughter"

"Oh my God! Leigh? I thought you were never going to call"

"Lloyd, I thought you would be an agent by now?"

"I am Leigh! Can you believe it?"

"I'm so glad…listen we need to catch up…but I must have gotten the wrong extension…I need to talk to Ari. Is he around?"

"Oh! yeah, you didn't get the wrong extension we were just in a meeting but he is on his cell right now, talking to Mrs. Ari, things must be going not so well at home I think…" but just as Lloyd was going to end his sentence the phone must have got yanked off him cause now Annaleigh could hear how Ari was yelling at Lloyd to get his something back to his office before he'll fire him and rehire him as his assistant again…with much more blasphemy of course. (We've all watched Entourage before, right? You know what I'm talking about)

"Leigh Roberts…what do I owe this honor?" said Ari his most fake voice ever

"Save it Ari…I know that you hate me and it's ok…join the club"

"Fine! What do you want then?" asked Ari really annoyed that the little brat had had the nerve to call him after what had happened during the covershoot of the Seventeen Magazine issue Annaleigh had shared with The Three Lights.

"Hey…my dad already paid you for your car…don't you think it's time for you and I to kiss and make up?

"Annaleigh that was a 2004 360 GTC Ferrari which you and your little friends used as a paint shield!" said Ari yelling to the phone and Annaleigh tried not to laugh about it cause if she did it would just made Ari's mood worsen .

"Sorry about that" she said trying not to chuckle as she remember the little accident with the paintball guns.

That day in the studio, it had been really fun. Annaleigh was invited to join the cover because she had won a price that the magazine and a brand of clothing marketed for teenagers were promoting. The competition was held in New York in which thousands of girls showed up for. The first stage of the competition was a walk-off, the second was a photo shoot and it finished with a video that revealed how the contestants helped in their community and made them suitable to be the next Seventeen Magazine-Kissme Couture Model. Of course Annaleigh won, making her 2009's model.

"Listen I need a favor" she said

"You need a favor from me?" asked Ari with a very insulted/baffled voice

"Ari…I need an agent" Annaleigh asked desperately

"Tell your father!"

"I want it to be you. I saw what you've done with Vincent, and I'm saying that because I'm one of the three people in the entire planet that actually and honestly liked Medellin. You know I'm talented…please…let me prove it to you"

"Your father hates me, he would never agree to this"

"Good thing I'm eighteen now and I don't need my parents approval; plus the fact that my dad hates you it's part of the bargain…this would piss him in larger-than-life proportions. Come on…give it a chance"

"What do you have in mind?"

"I'm willing to start from the bottom…I actually wanted to go to college but…that would be very inconvenient…let's have a meeting, how does that sound?"

"Are you free next week?"

"I was thinking more like in Spring Break" she said hoping

"You have to be freaking kidding me right? I thought you wanted this for real? Plus what the hell are you still doing in school?"

"Ari please…I can't go right now…my sister has her last round of quimo next month and then it's the recovery…I'm just waiting for my love-devoted mother to come back from New York and stay with her during the summer…I have a million of things to finish here, my boyfriend was just…I'll be free as a bird in June, ok? Let's talk in April and you won't be disappointed"

"It sounds just like I'm going to be…" said Ari once he felt defeated, there was something about her that you just couldn't help but give in…no matter what it was and no matter how mad you were after been witness of a brand new car murder.

"Thank you Ari…we'll talk" Annaleigh said and hanged up.

She was about to return to the Infirmary but decided to deal with all school related problems before she had to deal with Darien. So she then decided to pay a little visit to Andrew. She knew that right now he was taking Biochemistry so she went to the Exact Science Faculty floor. She climbed the stairs until she got to the third floor and looked for the Biochem lab. She knocked the door and waited for the professor to answer it. Soon enough Mr. García, one of the faculty teachers opened the door and looked hesitantly at Annaleigh.

"Ms. Roberts? Is something wrong?" asked Mr. García

"Of course not…" she said in a hurry

"You look pale" said the teacher

"Do I? Oh…haven't notice" Annaleigh said

"How can I help you?" said Mr. García still holding the door very near him

"Can I borrow Mr. Furuhata for just one second?" asked Annaleigh

"Can this wait until recess?"

"Am afraid it's really urgent professor"

"Ok…" and Mr. García disappear again behind the door. Soon, Andrew revealed himself leaving his classroom to go and talk to Annaleigh.

"What happened Leigh?" asked Andrew

"Tell me the truth Andrew…what happened exactly during practice?" asked Annaleigh to her friend in a very low voice.

"How is he? Any better?"

"Still asleep, I honestly don't think that's serious" said Annaleigh "Andrew…who did this?"

"Do you really have to ask?"

"So I was right? Blackmoon? Really?" and Andrew nodded

"He got Mitchell to back him on it"

"What I don't get is how Collins let it happen? I mean shouldn't Collins be yelling in the Headmaster's office right now that his best man is down?"

"Leigh...Collins was pissed as hell at Darien…I think…well…we can only assume now…"

"He gave the green light?...That son of a bitch" Annaleigh let out under her breath.

"What do you plan to do?" asked Andrew in hope that she'll come up with a plan.

"I don't know…I need to think…" said Annaleigh and turned to lean against the wall. She stood like that thinking for a while and just as Andrew was going back to his class she called him back.

"Did the Kou kid say anything to Diamond that you know off?"

"About what?"

"Nothing" said Annaleigh after thinking it through "Don't worry I'll think of something" and then she left Andrew's side to go to the Infirmary.

Just as she was about to enter to the Infirmary, she heard Collins in Betty's office. Annaleigh thought 'Great, its _deal with the jerk_ day'

"Thanks Betty, call me to the office once The Shields get here" said Couch Collins leaving the office. The moment he stepped out he met one angry looking Annaleigh.

"Ms. Roberts, I imagined I would catch near here, well luckily Darien doesn't seem to have something serious, let's hope for the best now" he said starting to leave her side.

"You are a professor" said Annaleigh to him

"Well that's a cleaver observation from your part, but I don't have time for this" he said trying to leave again

"What exactly do you plan to tell to the parents committee once word gets out?" she asked him

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about Roberts…but I can assure you that my only concern now is the well-being of Shields…he is after all the soccer Captain…the star…isn't he?"

"Student Hazing…first time in the history of this Academy that something like this happens to the…"

"Student Body President" he let out the words slowly and making a very marked accent in each of them "Yes…we know Annaleigh, and I'm so proud that you and him actually think that achieving that counts for something in this school let alone in life"

"Strong words for such an under achiever like yourself Couch, I would have thought that you would be more grateful to him…you've won thanks to him!"

"No….see that's where you are wrong! Darien is indeed a great player but who have won out there is the team…I've raised a great team and for once I won't aloud for once that your influence in one of my players keeps me from getting what I deserve!"

"My influence?! Oh you are delusional if you think that Darien got into the play because of _my_ influence"

"I'm not blind Annaleigh…I see how you get your way around here, but it won't work with me. I've got an eye on you for quite some time and I would love to hear the Headmaster's point of view in that"

"The fact that sometimes I have to sweet-talk into getting the things that I know that are right is one thing, but let another to do something like you've done… Student Hazing? From a faculty teacher is a very grave matter Couch Collins and I strongly suggest that you come up to the parent committee with something else that Annaleigh Roberts it's out to get me"

"You better watch your tone, young lady. Like you said, I'm a faculty professor and I won't aloud any student raise their voice towards me. You are under detention Ms. Roberts"

"What?! You can't send me to detention!"

"Oh really…because I'm under the impression that the one person who can remove it it's laying unconscious in a bed right now. And I've better made myself clear Roberts, you won't miss detention. I'm on duty today" and with that Couch Collins left Annaleigh's sight.

(Collins 1-Roberts 0)

She couldn't believe her ears. Have she heard right? Was she really detained? Was she being punked? I mean all of her hard work in school to sustain her reign as a queen bee, to assure herself that mo matter her ulterior motives in her plans that she would never get caught or reprehended for her actions. I mean…you got to be kidding me! Annaleigh Roberts does not serve detention! At the very least, not without cause. Defending her boyfriend didn't seemed right now as a good enough one…and that's when the light bulb clicked…she had a perfect plan…she was a genius…but I'll fill you all in later...let's get back to the main characters, shall we?

Annaleigh walked back to the infirmary and stepped in Betty's office. As she walked in, Betty turned on the radio that was laying down in her file filled desk. "Who knew" by Pink was on.

"Any changes?" asked Annaleigh to Betty

"I'm afraid not, but don't worry, he'll wake up soon, you'll see" said Betty with a smile and Annaleigh continue her way to the door that separated her office from the room where Darien rested peacefully.

"You never told me, why did you call Ms. Tsukino to accompany him" Betty asked standing up from her chair and going to pour herself a cup of water from the water dispenser.

"Cause they needed a break. Plus…what the bigger person would do is just turn away and just pretend like nothing is wrong…" said Annaleigh in a low voice to Betty as she saw what was in front of her.

"What do you mean?" asked Betty

"Nothing…" said Annaleigh as the music of her favorite Pink's song filled her. She was still watching how Serena caressed Darien's hair. She knew that Serena would feel it's softness, that uncommon softness. Annaleigh could see how Serena was touching Darien's hand…like holding on to life itself. Annaleigh could see how much Serena loved him…so much.

_You took my hand, you showed me how_

_You promised me you'd be around_

_Uh huh, that's right_

_I took your words and I believed_

_In everything you said to me_

_Yeah huh, that's right_

_If someone said three years from now_

_You'd be long gone_

_I'd stand up and punch them out_

_Cause they're all wrong_

_I know better_

_Cause you said forever_

_And ever, who knew? _

_Remember when we were such fools_

_And so convinced and just too cool_

_Oh no, no no_

_I wish I could touch you again_

_I wish I could still call you a friend, I'll give anything_

_When someone said count your blessings now_

_For they're long gone_

_I guess I just didn't know how I was all wrong_

_But they knew better_

_Still you said forever and ever_

_Who knew?_

_Yeah yeah_

_I'll keep you locked in my head_

_Until we meet again_

_Until we, until we meet again_

_And I won't forget you my friend_

_What happened?_

_If someone said three years from now_

_You'd be long gone_

_I'd stand up and punch them out?_

_Cause they're all wrong_

_And that last kiss I'll cherish_

_Until we meet again_

_And time makes it harder_

_I wish I could remember_

_But I keep your memory_

_You visit me in my sleep_

_My darling, who knew?_

_My darling_

_My darling, who knew?_

_My darling I miss you_

_My darling, who knew?_

_Who knew?_

Just as the song faded Darien opened his marvelous blue eyes. He blinked once and then twice, like readjusting to the light. Once he was fully awake he mumbled with a groggy voice: "What a weird dream"

"Oh my God you are awake!" said Serena really exited and then she jumped to hug Darien and she gave him a kiss…in his lips…which he responded too.

Annaleigh took a big breath and checked her cell which had a text from Silvia saying that they were in the lobby. Annaleigh turned to Betty and said that she was going to the lobby to see what was holding Darien's parents.

Serena kept kissing Darien as if something was controlling her from above, something told her that it was totally ok just to kiss him, that he was hers again.

Darien pulled back for a second and looked into her eyes. "Buns?" he called her as he was bringing his arms up to brush her arms.

"What did you just call me?" Serena asked out of shock

"Umm…Buns…I'm sorry I don't know where that came from" said Darien

"It's ok…you used to call me that…" said Serena and Darien knew why but he knew she was right (very weird dream). "I miss you calling me that" Serena whispered but Darien didn't hear her.

"What happened?" Darien asked her as he touched his head feeling the swelling and tenderness in it.

"You got hurt during soccer practice. Do you remember?" Serena said

"I remember now" said Darien closing his eyes and looking back at Diamond's expression just before he assaulted him.

"I should call Betty" said Serena standing up but Darien grabbed her hand before it was out of his reach.

"Thank you for being here" said Darien with his most dazzling voice and added his indescribably sexy to one side smirk.

"I wouldn't have had it any other way" said Serena leaving his side and calling the nurse who was now talking outside her office to John and Silvia Shields and Annaleigh.

When Serena came throw the door they all became silent and turned to see her.

"Did he wake up?" asked Silvia desperately.

"Yes" Serena breathed

And with that Betty, Silvia and John rushed to the Infirmary's consult office to go check on Darien.

Annaleigh instead turned away.

"Leigh! Wait where are you going?" Serena asked

"To call Andrew and asked him to help us move Darien to the car, they are taking him to the hospital for a check-up" said Annaleigh still walking away, not caring to turn to talk to Serena face to face.

"Annaleigh, stop walking so fast" Serena said from a distance trying to catch up to her.

"Don't bother!" said Annaleigh

"Leigh, come on! I want to help!" yelled Serena to her, finally catching up. Annaleigh turned to see her.

"Don't you think you have done enough?" she hissed and left, leaving Serena's eyes water.

Darien wasn't hers anymore.

_My darling I miss you_

_My darling, who knew?_

_Who knew?_

_

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_

I know, I know, I know (frustrated voice)...it was mostly Annaleigh and we hate her...we wish her a long life of biterness blah, blah blah.

she is not that bad...if I explain to you know... it won't have the importance that will have once it's reveal in it's own time...plus annaleigh is the girl I wish I would have been during highschool... all perfect and nice and having the world eating out of the palm of my hand and just bear with me please?

And if you want to give me a present in return (add campaign time) please follow me on Twitter, become my friend in facebook (please to send me a message saying that you are a reader from Fanfiction, else I won't accept you), visit and follow my blogs and most importantly leave reviews!! (can't count on God for that...I already tried it for my birthday)

Bye! Merry Christmas if The Sims 2 abduct me LOL! (Shout out to all Sims fans)


	17. Chapter 17

I know that my English sucks...I'm really sorry about that.

If anyone noticed, I finally updated my profile and with that kept my promise to one of my reviewers: Robert Pattinson is on my cast! My dream cast that is.

If there is still a small chance of doubt let me clarify it now:

1) Yes, chapter 15 is really confusing, no it wasn't a glimpse out of the future and yes, it happened while darien was sleeping.

2) I don't own Sailor Moon, Entourage characters or any song featured in the entire story.

3) And all I want for Christmas is your reviews.

(and just as a curious fact, TNT might know drama, but not as much as me).

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Chapter 17 A rally to remember

"YOU WHAT?" asked in complete shock Amy, Lita, Mina and Rei who were getting ready in Serena's room to go to the pep rally that evening.

"I. Kissed. Him!" said Serena, each word slowly so that the girls were able to hear her perfectly.

"So…What does that mean?" asked Mina letting her lipstick slip from her fingers; she was almost ready, just adding some touch-ups to her make-up. She looked like the whole definition of school spirit, since she had opted for the red mini, the white turtle neck, the black leggings and the white and red scarf that said "Go Scouts!"

"Nothing. It means nothing. I'm staying away!" said Serena going to her closet and picking up her new over-the-knee leather boots, that went perfect with the white and red dress that her mother had bought for her previously and without intention or hidden agenda picked out the school colors.

"Serena…" called Lita.

"Guys…it hurts… he is not mine to take" Serena said sadly.

"Did he kiss you back?" asked Rei. Had he? The fact that his lips had returned her every move had said that he indeed kissed her back.

"Does it matter?" Serena moving to her bed so she could put on her boots easily.

"He kissed you back?" Amy asked in a timid voice in the back of the room getting into her newer jeans. Her outfit was really cute too; pair of jeans, white long-sleeve shirt, white vest and her red ballerina flats.

"Yeah…but it doesn't really matter…Annaleigh loves him. If you could have heard her voice when she asked if I haven't done enough…is as if she knew that I kissed him"

"Does she know?" asked Lita putting on her motorcycle jacket, which complemented her outfit pretty well; skinny jeans, white t-shirt and her favorite pair of Converse. She had gone with her usual high ponytail but accessorized the whole outfit with some killer necklaces.

"No…she would have definitely said something else" said Serena looking at her friends. They were ready, well Rei still wasn't dressed 'cause she was busy flat ironing her hair and still had to slip into her black dress, black leggings and black leather boots.

"Are you sure? Cause you know how scheming she can be" said Amy.

"Yes I'm sure…and guys…she is not out to get me…she just comes out a little manipulative at times but she doesn't mean wrong" said Serena.

"Yeah right" said Amy with an added scoff and everyone turned to see Amy.

"Why do you have a problem with her?" asked Serena.

"She doesn't want me near you" said Amy, getting defensive.

"That's ridiculous" said Serena back.

"No…what's ridiculous is that last Monday, Greg was supposed to tutor you and then she told Darien to go tutor the girl from the Algebra class cause her tutor had called in sick…she then put on her happy face and went to flirt on Greg and laid down that he was selected for the Academic Decathlon and made me feel like crap all the while knowing I was selected too, and then she was saying all this things that she controlled Darien and the school was hers. She is a power maniac, obsessive-compulsive, manipulative person, and SHE IS OUT TO GET YOU. Why else would she have send Darien to be your tutor. She was testing you, to see if you could control yourself around him. She was testing you both!"

"Since it is so obvious that we can't get our hands away from each other, right?" said Serena sarcastically "Come one Amy, you are making no sense".

"She is not a good person, Serena" yelled Amy "You better open your eyes now!"

"Amy, everyone has done things they are not proud off. Annaleigh is not a bad person" said Serena.

"Oh my God! You are not blind at all, you are just stupid!" said Amy and everyone let their mouths open. The sweet, quiet, shy girl; the one who never said never to her friends; the one, unconditional friend everybody could count on had just said the strongest words to her best friend.

"Amy, Annaleigh is not a bad person for writing each and every single one of Darien's speeches, or for encouraging him to become body president so he could impress colleges, or even telling him how to dress or greet people. She is not a bad person for wanting what's best for him. She is not a bad person for loving him! I, in the other hand, know what it feels like to do bad things. I took away his friends when he needed then the most. I let him alone when he needed me the most. I hurt him! Every single freaking time he's near me I hurt him even worse! So, I may be stupid as hell; but Annaleigh Roberts is not a bad person. I am!" said Serena shedding tears.

"Serena, don't say that. You are not bad!" said Amy "You were just scared and so young"

"I could have been all those things but…I left him alone…completely. I don't deserve him."

"You love him" whispered Mina

"It doesn't matter!" said Serena

"I think that you need to talk to him…maybe if you explain things like you did with us… he has feelings for you, he will forgive you, I can feel it" said Rei.

"How can you say that, you don't even know him", said Serena. "I do, and he won't."

"Serena, not wanting to sound like a total bitch, but you don't. Maybe he has changed", said Rei. Serena stared at Rei, realizing how wrong she was. All those days of tutoring have let her to know him again, and what's worse is that she felt she knew him now, better than ever.

"I know he won't", said Serena sadly.

In that moment Ikuko entered the room which was unexplainably quiet; and that, my friends, was a very first, since it was almost impossible for the girls to remain quiet while they were in the house.

"Is everything alright girls?" Ikuko asked as she opened the door. Silence still reigned. "Serena, Dominic is in the living with your father, you might want to hurry before the boy gets murdered and by the way girls, the boys are already here".

"Oh no no no no no no no no no", said Rei running to gather her things and put them on.

Just as Rei was trying to put on her dress and tights, Amy moved from across the room and grabbed Serena's hand and squeezed it, like saying 'I'm sorry'. Serena offered back an almost invisible smile.

"It's ok. I love you Amy", said Serena leaving her room in other to greet her date.

Just sitting across from each other, were Ken and Dominic having "The talk". When Serena was walking down the stairs she could easily see that Dominic was starting to break into a sweat. A particularly big drop was running down from his forehead to his cheek.

"You know Dominic, Serena is too young for a date" said Ken looking very serious at Dominic, whose fright was starting to get worse. Serena finished walking down the stairs and quietly moved, without being noticed by both Dominic and her father, to the next room were the rest of the boys waited.

"Hey guys!" greeted Serena

"Hi, Serena" waved Scott and Greg who were playing Playstation 3 at the moment.

"Hi beautiful" said Nick getting close to give her a hug, which she returned gladly.

"Girls are almost ready guys", she informed but there wasn't a response from the guys who were almost hypnotized by the screen, Serena shook her head in rejection. "I can't believe you guys, you are a bunch of cowards…here you are acting like a bunch of chickens while my father is grilling Dominic!"

"Then why aren't you with him?" asked Scott still glued to the TV.

"You guys suck!" said Serena with a smile as she left the room and went to save Dominic from her father and his very unnecessary threats.

"I don't want you to touch her, I don't want you to sit near her. Actually I don't want you anywhere near her, if I have my way about it" said Ken a bit heated up.

"Sir, it's just a party…my team plays on Sunday…I don't know what to say…nothing wrong is going to happen to her, I promise" said Dominic.

"Well good. Now let me make you a promise of my own: if anything happens to my daughter, and I mean anything, I will personally put your head into a wall. It can be a brick-wall, a carton-wall, a glass-wall; you can even pick the wall but it's going to be a wall", said Ken rising from his sit.

"Ok dad, that's enough, Dominic it's not my date, he is not my boyfriend and he is not going to hurt me!" said Serena and with that Ken chilled a bit and sighed.

"Please excuse me Dominic, the very idea that my baby gets hurt…" said Ken going to hug her daughter.

"Don't worry sir, I haven't even kissed her yet" said Dominic while Ken and Serena were exchanging a hug. The moment Ken released her to go kill Dominic, Serena hugged him again.

"Dad, breathe. Go get mom, ok? We are leaving soon", said Serena smiling, then Ken left the living room and went to the kitchen. As soon as her father left, Serena hurry to Dominic's side and gave him a punch in the arm.

"You are a real ass, you know that?" said Serena.

"Whatever" he said teasingly and Serena simply returned the smile with an added eye roll.

Soon, everybody was on their way to The Crown. They were all paired, with the exception of Lita who was meeting Andrew there so she was walking with Mina and Scott.

Serena and Dominic were walking hand in hand, behind all of their friends.

"Did you mean what you told your dad?" he asked trying to read her face.

"What did I tell him?" Serena asked confusedly since she was minding herself with other more serious business.

"That we weren't dating", said Dominic trying to hide the hurt in his voice.

"We haven't really had one".

"What about last week?"

"You mean the ball from hell?" Dominic laughed at the statement.

"The same" he said.

"I don't know, should it count? I mean…it was really bad", said Serena.

"What about today?" he said

"A group date" Serena said mockingly. "How romantic of you!" she teased.

Then as Serena finished her sentence, Dominic drove her to him. He pulled hard, making her fall into his arms. He looked at her and he looked good, Serena couldn't deny it. But he wasn't Darien.

Serena smiled…as honest as she could manage. Then very slowly she moved away from him.

* * *

They arrived at the party and Andrew greeted them, and then they were received by a bunch of cheerleaders in uniform offering them red, white and black jelly shots (why else did you really thought they were having the "pep rally" outside school?).

The room was completely decorated in red, white and black. Balloons filled with helium crowed the room, with the exception of the space destined to be the dance floor. There were already a hell lot of people dancing to "I gotta feeling" from The Black Eyed Peas.

Lita and Mina were the firsts to jump to the floor with their partners while Amy chatted with Greg and some of his chess club friends. She was frequently eyeing Serena with apologetic looks, but Serena ignored her, she was too busy looking for Annaleigh so she could ask her how Darien was doing. Just as she finished looking around in the room she decided to go look quickly in the floor's balcony. The balcony was separated from the party by a red metallic fringe curtain.

Serena's heart stop when she saw Darien, he was leaning to the rail and looking at the city night view.

"I guess you are never too sick to miss a party, aren't you Shields" said Serena, but he didn't turned to see her. "I'm glad that you are ok; I was really worried", still no response but a sigh from him. "Darien…about this afternoon" she said looking down and when she looked up he was standing in front of her. He probably heard her heart rate, since it was pounding far louder than a marching band on January first at the Rose Parade.

He put one hand in the back of her head and pulled her to him, making her raise her tiptoes and him to bend down so they could meet in a 30 second kiss.

Serena let her clutch drop to the floor as she put her arms around his neck. But as she did Darien took them away.

"Will never happen again" he said and returned to the party.

* * *

An hour of dancing passed and Serena's spirit was catching up to the occasion.

They were dancing in circle at the moment. While "Good girls go bad" finished, Rei cleared the center of the floor and then one of Serena's favorite dance songs started while being mixed by the DJ. Since she had already been badgered for having kind of a grumpy mood (wonder why?) she took the song and the clear dance floor as an opportunity to show her dance skills and all her hours of 'So you think you can dance' watching.

The song "I know you want me" started and Serena started walking backwards to the dance floor and signaling with her hand for Dominic to go with her. He couldn't possibly resist. They reach the center and Serena stop walking and started dancing. She moved her hips in time for the 1,2,3,4 Rumba!, from one side to the other, driving more than a guy crazy. She then turned around and moved her hands up while moving in time and rhythm with the music. Dominic got closer to her, bending his knees until he was at level with her waist. He put his hands on both sides of her body, and then with a strong move, he put his right leg behind of hers. The move made Serena loose her balance, but she quickly found herself sitting on his leg and being dipped to the ground.

He kissed her.

* * *

After seeing their kiss Darien moved from where he stood, sitting and drinking in a dark corner alone, nearer to the bar area so the drinking could be done…I wanna say faster but I'm gonna go with easier.

Darien was across the room, leaning to the counter, doing his fifth shot…probably, and washing it down with some more vodka and Ginger Ale. As he was about to take his sixth someone stopped him by putting their hand on top of his.

"You really shouldn't be drinking like this. Silvia called and said that they gave you some pills. You want to be a doctor someday…you should know better". He turned to see who the person was and then he drank in one shot the rest of his drink (which was probably half cup).

"You are late" he said in a low voice.

"I know" the person said. Darien, with both hands pulled the person to him, a beautiful girl, dressed like he wouldn't believe. She was wearing what used to look like an oversized 10th City Scouts jersey, but now it was fitted to her curvy body to perfection. She also sported a wide black belt to show her itsy-bitsy tiny waist (skinny bitch), the whole look made the T-shirt look like an amazing sporty dress. Of course in any other person the shirt would have looked like crap, but not on her. She looked like a model, and she kind of was. Beneath the dress, shirt, or whatever; her goddess-like legs and only to make me even more jealous, my dream shoes: high heel, red, All Star shoes. Her hair was really boho-chic this night since she was wearing it down, very messy and filled with thin tight braids. "You look horrible", said Darien checking her out.

"God, you are so drunk" she said grabbing a shot of her own. Moving behind her, he went near her ear and whispered: "It would look better off".

He snaked his arms around her waist and said into her other ear, leaving wet marks where he kissed her neck: "Let's go to your place". She nodded, damn it! She was only human (such a lame excuse, I know). Annaleigh then ordered a drink: "Gin and pineapple juice, easy on the pineapple juice".

"Then, you can tell me all about how exactly you got suspended" said Darien brushing with his hands over Annaleigh's belly as he leaned his head into her shoulder.

"Later, ok? I don't want to ruin the night", said Annaleigh grabbing her drink and proceeding to down it on one shot.

Just as they were about to leave from the party the DJ stopped the music and the captain of the cheerleader team, Emerald Green, grabbed a mic and started with the routine "celebration".

"Hi! Thanks to everyone who showed up today to give their support to our kick-ass team!" she said as the crowd cheered and started to gather near the DJ stage.

"We are here…cause we wanted to throw a big party in honor of all the guys who go to the field and give everything they have for our school" Every couple seemed to be hugging or hand in hand…even more cozy than the week before in the ball, since there was no alcohol there. Even Serena seemed to be kind of comfortable holding Dominic's hand.

"We're celebrating that in just 36 hours our guys will start Championship in hopes to get their 5th consecutive title. We are here to embrace them and show them a good time" (Jesus, what a slut).

"So, I think a toast is in other. Let's raise our cups…To the Scouts!" and everyone followed.

"To the Scouts!" the crowd yelled.

"Also!" she said calling everyone's attention before they started to spread around again. "Here is to Darien Shields" now, this was a first, usually the speech just lasted the one toast and the cheerleaders proceeded to dance with the soccer players…the ones without date; but Darien never got a special toast…just during the official pep rally which was going to be celebrated the next day at 5pm on the school soccer field. (The pep rally they were on now was really known as the pep rally, 'cause it was the one that really did the trick on the pepping part of the gig; but only happened at the beginning of every championship. The other one was only known as the _Speech_)

"Our super captain…" and everyone cheered again.

"And I propose another one" she said.

"I think she deserves it…"she continued

"I mean, I kind of envy her", she said climbing down the stage, mic and drink still in hand. "She has accomplished so much this year…what am I talking about, this week". As she proceeded talking through the mic she moved through the crowd. "Not only she was the reason one of our best players was on probation for half a month…she also caused him to be suspended during the next three months" now, that made the couples separate abruptly, the ones holding hands were gossiping with near friends about the juicy piece of news; even Serena and Dominic were discussing the event.

"Who was suspended?" Serena asked him.

"I've no idea", he said honestly.

Across the room other conversation was starting as well. "Do you know about this?" Darien asked Annaleigh; she kept completely still and quiet.

"She also provoked two fights amongst our team members. You see, she acts really innocent at first…until she reveals herself to be a complete harpy. She not only has successfully make Diamond Blackmoon leave the team for no apparent reason for three months, she also caused Darien Shields to be indisposed by doctors orders for our first game. But no matter ladies…she makes peace with the guys when she totally screws over them. She not only made out with Diamond and Darien today no matter the fact that they have girlfriends…she is going now for our star defense, Dominic Colton" Emerald was now in front of Serena, and Annaleigh started to move between the crowd to make her way to Emerald and stop whatever she was trying to do. Annaleigh was trying to move really fast, Darien on her heels; she was really worried, she never thought the attack would be to Serena, she thought the attack would be against her.

"And got Annaleigh Roberts expelled from the school" Annaleigh froze like three feet behind Emerald; 'how on Earth could she know that?' Annaleigh thought and since she stopped moving so abruptly Darien crashed into her, giving him time to ask: "What the hell, you were expelled? Annaleigh what the hell happened today?"

"So here is to you Serena Tsukino" Emerald raised her cup and proceeded to throw her drink on Serena.

Now, Serena wasn't drenched in liquid, it was red paint.

Serena tried cleaning the excess paint from her face with her hands. She wouldn't even dare looking at her new dress. She glared at Emerald and then saw Annaleigh, open mouth Annaleigh, and went to her. Emerald, didn't turned to see, simply smiled evilly.

"You saw the kiss? You told her? I can not believe it. I defended you! You vile miserable bitch!" Serena scream at her and started running to the exit being followed closely by Rei, Lita, Mina, Molly, Lizzie, Elena and Sammy; each of them giving Annaleigh an awful look of abhorrence and hatred. All of them moved with the exception of Amy, she as Annaleigh was frozen right there and then.

"That was low, even for you Leigh" said Darien leaving her side as he looked around to find where Serena was.

Emerald turned around, and approached Annaleigh.

"Diamond sends his regards…since you didn't want him to talk to them" and with that Emerald started to leave but suddenly someone grabbed from her the mic.

"I would like to make an announcement", said the person who held at that moment the microphone.

* * *

After sending Darien off to the hospital with his uncles and Andrew for company, Annaleigh went to the make a call.

"Hi Amy, I know you probably don't want to talk to me, but…I was hoping that you would. Could you meet me in the school's news room in an hour?...Thanks".

Playing with the devil…such a terrible liaison.

* * *

Told you I knew drama!

And if you thought that was dramatic, wait until the real SerenaxDarien story begins, which might take me a couple of long chapters to write...but anyway...Happy Holidays everyone (if I don't finish the next one fast enough)

On the good note, the God of Computers resurrected mine, so I may have more time to write...


	18. Chapter 18

Hi! Just to be clear here... I finished writing the chapter on Christmas day... but my friend who has beta-ed me so far needed a much needed vacation... so I'm sorry if I took forever.

Now...it might happened again... since I'm the one going on a vacation tomorrow... I'm going to the beach... Head's up for the people visiting my blog (Diary of a wannbe writer)... I might post an special episode of my family trip to the beach... since it's my favorite place in the whole wide world.

mmm... what else...please don't hate me too much after reading this chapter...

Love you all... my reviewers rule! (I can't believe that I am over the 100 mark...keep it up people...I know for a fact that you are going to want to talk to me after reading this chapter...but I might write back in a week...since Internet access will be a tremendous problem...don't worry about chapter 19...it's it the work shop right now and I'm bringing the laptop with me...hint...it will be very steamy)

* * *

Chapter 18 Truth, lies, and a voice-mail (Black holes and revelations)

(To help you with the mood, I'm going to suggest a series of songs that are really appropriate…hope you can keep up… just youtube them…I think they are there… most of them anyway…I think. First one _Falling away with you_ by Muse.)

Seiya Kou loved birthdays, especially his, since the date always coincided with the first weekend of summer vacation. Sometimes for his neighbors and friends was the most expected party of the year. The party was always welcomed, but what really made Seiya Kou long for his birthdays was the fact that little Serena Tsukino always made him a present and always presented her gift with a hug and a kiss on his cheek. Each year his birthdays were better than the year before but it was on his tenth birthday that he realized that he loved Serena, making the celebrated occasion his favorite birthday ever.

The day he turned 10 years old his mother woke him up to a room full of colorful wrapped presents. New soccer gear, new games for his Game Cube, new CD's, a new electric guitar (he collected them…of course since every ten year old is obsessed with them) and a brand new laptop were amongst the presents that very year. The birthday really was making it to the books, even his brothers were nice to him…not that they weren't regularly, but they never really hanged-out with him. Darien usually was the one who hanged-out with him the most since they liked to play soccer and video games together, everything that Yaten and Taiki found useless and pointless.

His mother organized the traditional party, this time the theme was _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_. Everything had to do with chocolate or candy; Willy Wonka's candies flew everywhere, and chocolate fountains on the tables were surrounded by mountains of marshmallows and sweet and sourly fruit. It was supposed to be the greatest party in history, and for Seiya it really was, reason no other than the fact that Serena had added a friendly 'I love you Seiya' to her regular 'Happy Birthday'; it was friendly, but said nonetheless.

At hearing those words Seiya's heart almost had a short-circuit for all the extra enthusiasm he was feeling. He didn't even care that she had preferred to sit by Darien's side while they were watching a movie or that she had fallen asleep on his shoulder or even that she had to spend the night over at Darien's since her parents were with Sammy in a tennis tournament that weekend. Serena had said it, and nothing, not even Darien, could take his happiness away.

What he wanted more out of his birthday was that Serena would keep on saying it to him, but she never repeated the phrase, not with the sentiment that he was hoping. Serena only saw him as a buddy. It wasn't that bad, just being her friend, but everything changed that summer during camp when Serena throughout dinner told Seiya a secret: she kissed Darien.

His feelings towards them changed a lot. He didn't want to be friends with them anymore; they had hurt him in the worst possible way. And for the longest time he felt hurt and betrayed… betrayed by his best friends…four years to be exact he had felt that way.

After thinking it through during so long, he came to the conclusion that if he really loved Serena he had to fight for her. That included defending her from such absurd accusations. So, after listening to that air-head of a cheerleader talk, he approached her and grabbed the microphone. He was sorry he had acted like so a stupid brat. Emerald Green, who was clearly a Diamond's minion, was going to be sorry, but not as nearly as sorry as Diamond was ever going to be… How dare he hurt what Seiya loved the most?

"I would like to make an announcement" he said through the mic. He saw Annaleigh react to that and she came to him to grab the mic from him.

"What do you think you are doing?" Annaleigh said in a hurried murmur.

"Trust me" Seiya told her. "I've known Serena Tsukino all of my life and I can tell you that no one is as sweet, as innocent, as perfect as she is. This is my entire fault Serena, please forgive me"

Serena listened carefully from where she stood, in the hallway that lead to the stairs, trying to get rid of the paint with a bunch of napkins. Her friends listened too, actually everybody listened intently.

* * *

(Undisclosed desires by Muse)

Annaleigh waited patiently in her former desk in the school's paper office. In that moment she received a call from her 2 hour old agent's office.

"Hi, this is Leigh Roberts" she answered.

"You can laugh at my face if you want to" said her new agent Ari Gold.

"What is it Ari?" she asked a little bit annoyed and worried that maybe he would change his mind about taking her as a client.

"The studio wants Vinny in a project, it's a thriller…actually he is right here with me in my office and he would like to talk to you" said Ari turning on the speaker phone.

"Leigh?" Vincent Chase asked, one of the most promising actors in the business at the moment.

"Vin? Is that really you?" Annaleigh asked is disbelief.

"Ari told me that you were begging him to take you" Vincent said.

"I am kind of desperate at the moment" Annaleigh said sarcastically cracking a laugh from Vincent "So what have you being up to?"

"I don't know if you heard that my movie is on hold right now"

"Really? That's too bad Vin. I'm sorry"

"Nah, it's ok… Found new projects… Actually the studio it's pushing me to do _Blood and Silk"_

"The one about the cop and the ballet dancer in the witness protection program?"

"That's the one" said Vincent

"Well…you'll be the cop or the psycho killer?" asked Annaleigh, Vincent laughed again.

"If you do me the honor to play the ballerina, I'll be the cop" said Vincent lightly

"What?" asked amazed Annaleigh "Why? I mean…how desperate are they? I don't…I haven't even worked in film…ever…I mean you could have anyone"

"All the same reason… We want a fresh face and I know you are talented. Anyone that shields herself with Ari's car is pretty cool on my book. What do you say? Do you want to come for an audition?" Vincent asked; in that moment Annaleigh realized that Amy and Greg were entering the news room.

"When would it be?" she asked really excited.

"That's the catch; they wanted to start film next month so they need to find the rest of the cast between this week and the next. Can you get here on Tuesday…next week?"

"Of course, I'll be there, just tell E to text me the address"

"Texting it right now" said Eric Murphy, Vincent's manager and best friend through the phone.

"Thanks Leigh, it will be a pleasure having you here, say hi to you father for me" said Dana Gordon, head of the studio, who apparently was on Ari's office too.

"Hi E! Hi Dana! Thanks you guys, I'll try not to disappoint you too much" said Annaleigh practically jumping and dancing around the room.

"What did I told you Annaleigh?" said Ari through the phone. "I'm the best aren't I?"

"Bye Ari, see you on Tuesday" she said rolling her eyes and hanging up.

Amy and Greg were looking at each other with a look of 'WTF?' on their faces.

"Thanks for meeting me" said Annaleigh still with the brightest smile on her face.

"Why did you call us?" Amy asked still very confused of why would Annaleigh would have wanted to talk to her in the first place, then she was even more confused when she realized that she had called Greg as well.

"Because you are the best hackers I know" said Annaleigh. Greg and Amy exchanged the same look one more time.

"Meaning?" asked Greg

"That the two of you are going to help me get expelled" said Annaleigh, extremely calm, still with the same bright smile.

* * *

Both Greg and Annaleigh were reading behind Amy's chair while she finished typing a message.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Amy asked still re-reading her message.

"Most positive" Annaleigh said, grabbing her leather bag and waving good-bye to the two Herald's reporters.

She exited the news room and saw far away in the hall Seiya Kou walking in the wrong direction of his classroom. She frowned.

* * *

It was 2:40 pm when Annaleigh knocked on the Headmaster's office door.

"Come in" a voiced commanded behind the door.

Annaleigh opened the door and stepped in. She walked a few steps until she stop to take in her surroundings, it could pass a hell lot of time until she entered the room again.

She saw behind the Headmaster's tall chair all of his diplomas hanged in the wall, displayed like medals of all of his accomplishments. She saw the bookshelves that covered the walls of the office packed with books from his many researches and studies. She saw the small coffee table that sat on a corner full of reports that the teachers and other administrative employees had brought him over the day. Annaleigh wasn't going to miss having to classify everything and putting it on the right files. She had spent a lot of her afternoons having to organize every single paper in that office; it was a miracle that she had had time to study at all.

"How can I help you Ms. Roberts?" asked Headmaster Carter, who was signing some papers that sat on his desk.

"I wanted to talk to you Headmaster" Annaleigh said taking one of the two sits that were in front of the large desk.

"Fine…" Headmaster Carter said, dragging the word as he finished signing the last one of his papers and finally turning to see Annaleigh sitting in a chair in front of his desk. "What can I do for you Ms. Roberts?" Headmaster Carter said taking his glasses off.

"Headmaster, have you given any thought about the student I suggested?"

"Suggested?" Headmaster Carter asked confused.

"To be my substitute. I've been offered an opportunity that it may as well not present itself ever. As you know, I have fulfilled satisfactorily each requirement for my graduation and I need to ask for your permission to excuse myself from school" Annaleigh said.

"How long?" Headmaster Carter asked.

"Three days next week and if everything turns out ok after that…maybe two to three months" Annaleigh said in an enthusiastic voice.

"I'm guessing this isn't another contest?" Headmaster Carter said with a smile that reached his eyes.

"No it's not. This is something I've been hoping for several years. You know my parents weren't excited that I wanted to join the entertainment business, they were hoping that my interests were guided into a more traditional career…but since I'm eighteen now…I don't want to lose this opportunity."

"You have certainly shined in this school Ms. Roberts. I know for a fact that you will succeed in anything that you set both mind and heart in."

"Thank you Headmaster, that means a lot coming from you. Here is my resignation letter from my position as your student assistant as well as the chair for the Outreach School Program. In the letter I present my personal recommendation for my substitute." Annaleigh said and she gave the thin envelope to her Headmaster.

Headmaster Carter reached for the envelope and put in down on his desk. This was usually were Annaleigh would stand up and excuse herself, but she didn't.

"Did you need anything else Ms. Roberts?" and as Headmaster Carter asked Annaleigh slowly lose her smile and looked down to where her hands were squeezing the hem of her skirt.

"Headmaster, did you find out about what happened to Darien?" Annaleigh asked still looking down.

Headmaster Carter reclined in his chair, putting on his glasses again. "It was a terrible accident"

"It wasn't an accident, it was an incident" said Annaleigh

"What do you mean?" Headmaster Carter asked.

"I suspended Diamond Blackmoon for three months Headmaster. He deliberately and consciously did what he did. If it was up to me, he would be expelled right now."

"But it is not up to you Ms. Roberts" and Annaleigh looked up.

"Headmaster, I'm worried. I talked to you about that… Darien _did_ in fact overstepped his authority"

"Overstepped? Ms. Roberts, no doubt you can clearly see that what he did could not at all be called overstepping his authority. Mr. Shields attacked another student, I thought we were clear on that"

"And I thought we were clear Headmaster, that taking into consideration the motive that Darien had to defend such actions wasn't going to credit him with any kind of punishment, much less physical. Honestly he didn't do anything wrong."

"Don't you think Ms. Roberts that maybe you are a little biased? I've given Mr. Shields a lot of opportunities. I won't deny however, that he has fulfilled them to my satisfaction. He is a good boy."

"The best, Headmaster. Darien has never presented a violent conduct. Diamond Blackmoon, on the other hand, hasn't been the role model for best behavior. What if he doesn't stop? What if this is just the beginning of his vendetta?" said Annaleigh.

"Then, let me be the one who worries about such possibilities. Well… Ms. Roberts I think you should be heading to rehearsal right now"

"I have detention today" Annaleigh said looking down again.

"Of course, Mr. Shields isn't present to guard the hall…" said Headmaster Carter

"No, Headmaster. I _am_ detained…Couch Collins is in charge of the detention hall today"

"You are detained? Who did?" Headmaster Collins asked in genuine shock.

"Couch Collins detained me" Annaleigh said in shrug.

"What for?" Headmaster Carter asked again

"Speaking up my mind" Annaleigh said after considering her words.

(Enter Apocalype Please…by Muse)

"What do you mean by that?" Headmaster Carter said but in that moment, just as Annaleigh was about to answer Couch Collins entered his office.

"Headmaster, why is Diamond Blackmoon suspended for three months, that is absurd! We have a game on Sunday!" Couch Collins said the second he entered the office.

"Richard calm down!" Headmaster Carter said. Couch Collins approached quickly the Headmaster's side and then he noticed that Annaleigh was sitting on a chair in front of the Headmaster's desk.

"Ms. Roberts? What are you doing here? Not escaping from detention, I hope."

"I'm sorry Couch Collins, if your powers of observation aren't as accurate as mine and haven't permitted you to notice, but I happen to work here" Annaleigh said in a spiteful voice.

"Ms. Roberts, you will maintain a level of respect for your professors, while you are in and out of this school. Did I make myself clear?" said Headmaster Carter.

"Yes, Headmaster" she said through her teeth.

"Good….you are excused now" Headmaster Carter said.

"Don't excuse her just yet Headmaster. I think Ms. Roberts will find this voice-mail a student sent me, most insightful" Collins said while looking at Annaleigh with a certain evil glee in his eyes.

Collins search for his cell phone and put it out and played the voice-mail he said some student sent him earlier that day.

"Not since I realized that the true power comes from above…being the Headmaster's student assistant can be very helpful at times… mostly when you control the class president. I have all the power I could wish for here…and Serena…well she better prepare herself for what's coming…'cause I'm done making it easier for her" the sound of Annaleigh's voice resonated throughout the Headmaster's office.

Headmaster Carter, the 65 year old, British great-grandson of the founder of 10th City Academy sat completely appalled by the words. During seven years Annaleigh Roberts had kept a perfect A+ record, she had organized more charity events than he could count and she had been a perfect assistant to him last semester and what was in progress of this one.

Couch Collins was happily by the Headmaster's side, smiling…the jerk was smiling so evilly that it almost gave you chills to look at him. The piece of information that he was waiting for had been handle to him in a china platter.

Annaleigh had closed her eyes, she was shaking. "I can explain" she said, her voice trembling.

"So you could fill Headmaster's ears with more lies?" said Couch Collins hitting stop on his cell phone.

"Excuse me? I've never… I can explain" said Annaleigh acting insulted.

"I'm waiting for it, Ms. Roberts" said Headmaster Carter with an extremely disappointed look on his face.

"Headmaster, that was taken out of context" began saying Annaleigh but was immediately interrupted by Couch Collins.

"Headmaster you can't possibly believe her, now can you? She is obviously going to start making up some sort of story so she can save herself. You can't Annaleigh, be an adult and accept the consequences of your own actions" said Collins

"I'm not making up any story, you are not even giving me the chance to explain myself, and I can explain myself" she said desperately.

"Headmaster, she has proven not been worth hearing" Collins said and Annaleigh glared at him.

"Headmaster, please, you simply can't judge me from a recording that doesn't even contain the full piece" Annaleigh said calmly.

"Maybe I've given you too much freedom" Headmaster Carter whispered to himself loud enough for Collins and Annaleigh to hear. He sank on his chair.

"Headmaster, I've never done anything to make you doubt me, please just hear me out" said Annaleigh, her eyes full of water.

"Come on Annaleigh, what about threading one of the faculty members?" said Collins still smiling from ear to ear.

"I wasn't threading you, I was simply stating a fact" said Annaleigh in a low voice.

"What are you talking about Richard?" Headmaster Carter suddenly asked.

"She seems to be under the impression that I had something to do with Darien Shields getting hurt today on practice" said Collins.

"Is not an impression, I know it's true" said Annaleigh getting more and more feisty.

"Annaleigh, that's a very grave accusation" said Headmaster Carter very seriously.

"Headmaster, he wasn't present during practice and I have Darien's word on that" Annaleigh said standing up from her sit.

"Ms. Roberts, certainly you can't possibly make such an assumption that a teacher would want one of his students harm"

"That's what I thought too Headmaster, but certainly Couch Collins would very much like to explain two things for himself. First, why wasn't he present satisfying his responsibilities for almost two hours, you could ask any student from the team that was present during practice this morning. And second; why weren't you, not even one drop worried about Darien? The only one you seen worried about is Diamond Blackmoon, the one who attacked him! Was it because you were tiered that Darien skipped practice or because he skipped it to rehearse for the school play?"

"That's enough of you young lady" said Collins losing his smile.

"That's not even half of it!" Annaleigh said out loud.

"Headmaster, she is out of control" said a heated Collins.

"Annaleigh, I'm extremely worried about you. You are leaving me no other choice, you cannot make such accusations…your attitude towards me, this position, this school… screams of disrespect and mockery…" said Headmaster Carter.

"Headmaster, please…" she begged.

"Annaleigh" he whispered "maybe your leave of absence has come in the most convenient time… should I make it permanent?" he said in a low voice, as if he was saying something unspeakable.

"Headmaster, please this is not fair" Annaleigh urged.

"No, what's not fair is the image you are putting students here. If you may recall, we have a morality clause in this school" said Collins regaining his smile.

"We also have a zero tolerance towards hazing but that didn't seem to stop Diamond Blackmoon or you for that matter" said Annaleigh back.

"She should be expelled, Headmaster!" Collins said losing his patience

"You should be fired!" Annaleigh said angrily back at him.

"Silence!" the Headmaster said in a raised voice. "No one is getting expelled or fired today! Richard, Diamond Blackmoon won't be playing in the team for the next three months but he is free to come back to school. Ms. Roberts please take the next week free" said Headmaster Carter and as she was about to protest Carter urged her to stop with his right hand. "This won't go to your record Ms. Roberts, but if it repeats itself…I may take stronger actions. Now…Richard maybe it will be best if you let Annaleigh rejoin her rehearsal?"

Collins looked at her with a hateful expression. "Whatever you said Headmaster… what about ethics…I know how much Ms. Roberts likes to display for everyone her achievements, but how about ethics?"

"I beg your pardon?" Annaleigh said between confusion and anger.

"You should" Collins said, his smile returning to his face.

"How about the zero tolerance for… I don't know… cheating on school papers… exams?" said Collins raising both his hands, pretending to raise a question.

"I have never" said Annaleigh coldly.

"Then what is this?" Collins took out from a folder he was holding two pieces of paper. "Was this supposed to be an essay you wrote on your first year for English" he said, giving one of the papers to Annaleigh so she could analyze it quickly.

She read it briefly, it seem to be hers. "Yes" she said simply, giving back the piece of paper.

"And isn't this essay, exact copy from the one you supposedly wrote, an essay written by Amber Roberts?" said Collins, giving both pieces of paper to Headmaster Carter. He read them; they were exact image from one another. Still Annaleigh tried to not lose her cool.

"Don't bother reading them Headmaster, they are the same. I believe that in front of my front page I wrote a memorial for my sister, since I couldn't write anything that weekend… I was busy burring my sister… I'm extremely sorry" Annaleigh said calmly, and then she took a breath "Seven years ago that happened… and I believe seven years ago I cleared that misunderstanding with Ms. Haruna" she said to Collins then turned her attention to Carter. "Headmaster I believe this is called a witch hunt"

"Forging signatures?" Collins said

"What?" Annaleigh asked in disbelieve

"Richard, that's enough" Headmaster Carter said standing up from his chair, signaling them the exit from where he stood with one hand.

"This is not fair" said Annaleigh in a low voice grabbing her bag. Both she and Collins were about to exit the office when Annaleigh returned her way to Headmaster Carter. Collins turned as well to see what was it she was about to do.

"Headmaster, this was full piece" Annaleigh said grabbing her cell phone and playing the other voice-mail.

(Enter Starlight…should I really say from whom?)

"_Are you exited about next fall?" Greg's voice said _

"_Yes, I can't believed that seven years have passed so quickly" Annaleigh answered_

"_You certainly have achieved a lot during these years. You are part of the Drama Club, president of the Debate Team, were selected for the International Academic Decathlon, Editor of The Academy's Herald, Chair for the Outreach School and Social Activities Programs, and selected class president for six years while the other one you were Student Body President…these are amongst many of the things you did during your stay in the Academy. How did you do all of it? Greg asked, clearly impressed by the achievements she had just read._

"_It does certainly look like a lot. But, I have to thank everyone involved in those activities. I had simply to manage a wonderful group of capable of students. The things that the Outreach School Program achieved were because of them. As for the time I was Student Body President I had the opportunity to participate in a lot activities, but most of them were protocol acts. I stepped down because I wanted to spend more time in the charity work done by The Outreach Program" _

"_You still found time to help the new Student Body President?"_

"_I do… as senior class president; all of the class presidents help the Body President and since I had the opportunity of been one already I can suggest some courses of action"_

"_Do you miss been Body President?" Greg asked her _

"_Not since I realized that the true power comes from above…being the Headmaster's student assistant can be very helpful at times… mostly when you control the class president with his decisions. Darien Shields is a great friend and he trusts my judgment, but I have all the power I could wish for here, for helping The Outreach Program. But I am stepping down from all of my duties, it is time to pass on the torch and already picked two students that have proven excellence in this school"_

"_Who are they?" Greg asked excitedly_

"_For my position as the Headmaster student assistant, Amy Mizuno. In only two years she has overwhelmed the faculty teachers and I know she will be a perfect substitute"_

"_Who is the other one?" Greg asked_

"_For the program that I personally helped found, Serena Tsukino. I haven't met anyone that is as selfless as she is…and Serena…well she better prepare herself for what's coming…'cause I'm done making it easier for her; that program is my baby, but I trust my instincts, she will do an incredible job" _Annaleigh stopped playing the voice-mail.

"The interview was for the Herald's issue of Best and Most for the yearbook… my class picked me as Most likely to Succeed" Annaleigh said in a low voice, whipping her eyes. "I could never disrespect or mock this position, Headmaster" Annaleigh said. "Maybe Couch Collins can tell you who was it that sent him the mail? A reporter for the Herald perhaps? Diamond Blackmoon…most likely…" Annaleigh said.

"Annaleigh did you forge a signature… any signature?" Carter asked

She stayed completely mute…after what seemed an eternity she nodded.

"What for?"

"To authorize a gardening project on the roof" Collins answered for her.

"Who's signature?" Carter asked

"Darien Shields's signature" Annaleigh said in a whisper.

Carter debated in his mind for several minutes. He stood up from his chair, paced and paced behind his chair and finally stood, turned from his guests looking at his diplomas.

"What would you have me do Ms. Roberts?" Carter asked.

"You are asking her?" Collins said in shock.

"Richard, would you please step outside for a moment" Carter ordered and Collins did, against his will. Once Collins stepped outside and close the door, the talk between Annaleigh and her headmaster continued.

"Ms. Roberts?" Carter asked again, still turned from them.

"If I was to be treated equally, like any other student in this Academy…then I should be expelled" Annaleigh said finally.

"But you are not like anyone else" Carter said. "Do you want to get expelled?" Carter said signaling back the chair in front of his desk.

"I thought I did, that it would be the best" said Annaleigh taking the seat.

"That's very altruist from your part… silly even? How can you think so little of your future? What was it for? Was it even worth it?"

"I don't know…" she said

"Your sister was my assistant as well, did you know that?"

"I did."

"She was an extraordinary student, she wanted to be a doctor…she was such a good girl, but she worried a lot."

"What did she worry for?"

"You Ms. Roberts. She worried sometimes that you suffered of something called hysterical blindness. She worried that you wanted to achieve goals so difficult, so high above anyone's expectations, that in some occasions you forgot and couldn't tell the difference from what's right from what's not. I believe she made those worries heard to you, once."

"The day she died, actually… we had a fight, she called me conceited, she was right."

"Do you think that you heard her advice, changed who you are? It is a wonderful thing to organize charity events, find homes for homeless pets, but Annaleigh, change must come from the heart first."

"She used to say that I could never understand what a random act of kindness meant, since I usually made everything about myself. I guess that hasn't changed a lot" Annaleigh said with water in her eyes.

"I don't think that's true. Your work is wonderful Ms. Roberts, but you do often forget that in life, in real life you aren't going to be so lucky, to escape consequences with a smile to the jury. Amber worried that you were so blind and so focus, so selfish in your desire of achieving your ambitions, that you forgot to do what's right, that you forgot or even lose yourself in the process. You do risk too much in the plans that you come up with. And, just for the record Ms. Roberts, I had already found out about the forged signature…and it's a lovely idea… Please, take all the time that you need, away from this school, to find yourself again. Your diploma will be here waiting for you, when you return."

"Headmaster, I'm sorry" Annaleigh said

"Ms. Roberts, it isn't me you need to apologize to, you need to apologize to yourself…to your sister. Amber loved you too much, and it's to honor her memory that I won't treat you like any other student. You won't be expelled Annaleigh… but you need to sort some things out, you could end up hurting more than just yourself with your actions… think of that… since you have found your personal pastime to make sure both Mr. Shields and Ms. Tsukino are special treated…I'm sure Ms. Mizuno will make sure of that from now on.

"Annaleigh…look at me" Annaleigh did as told "you are not a bad girl, but you are making bad choices with your life. Why are you doing this?"

"I've never had a close relationship with my parents, Amber raised me… and back then I used to be very… spoiled… I only thought of myself. She told me once that she honestly doubted I could do something that didn't benefited me in some way or another… I've always had a head to think for myself… for what I want. She died and then… I could see so clearly what she had meant…

"When Abigail got sick…I made a promise... and I intend to keep it" and she got up and apologize again.

Collins entered the room and waited for Annaleigh to exit. Annaleigh approached the door; she leaned near Collins so she could only whisper. "You really thought you could play me? I was the one who sent the mail to Diamond" Collins looked at her in shock.

"Annaleigh, could you please close the door on your way out? I still need to discuss some things with Richard…" Headmaster Carter said.

"I won't stop until you are expelled" Collins whispered to her.

"Well…congratulations Couch" she said and closed the door.

'I will keep my promise, no matter what' she thought.

* * *

(Enter Apocalypse Please)

"Everything you just heard Emerald said is a lie, I know because I helped made it up" said Seiya as he threw the mic back to Emerald. Everyone was gossiping right away, talking right then and there about Emerald and what an unbelievable bitch she was. The expression in her face as she heard Seiya was priceless. All the shock that dripped from her was something worth freezing and hanging on the wall. As much as that expression was good, it wasn't as good as the next.

But as Seiya handed out the mic back to Emerald, Amy came to her and grabbed Emerald's arm and spin her from her spot so she could be face to face with the cheerleader. Amy glared at her and simply slapped her, hard. Emerald's face was a mix between outrage and something else…something definitely not good. Emerald was going to throw herself at Amy when Dominic wrapped his arms around Emerald to stop her; same did Greg with his girlfriend.

"Easy tiger" said Greg out loud to control Amy's fury. She was fuming.

"Emerald, stop it" yelled Dominic who was losing his grip on her because she was moving like a crazy predator who had just being stopped from catching its prey.

"Let me go Greg!" said Amy against her boyfriend's strong hold that prevented her from yanking Emerald's green highlights from her hair.

"I'm going to kill you! You hear me! I'm going to kill you!" Emerald screamed from the top of her lungs to Amy.

All of the guys and girls had come to Amy's aid; to help drew them farther so they wouldn't touch. Amy was fighting all the logic in her head, logic wasn't the answer, or reason. There was no logic to back-up Emerald's actions, so the response had to be even crazier. She fought against Greg's hold until she gave up. She was still fuming when she gave up. She couldn't break her restrains.

Being a former girl-scout leader had taught Annaleigh that she should always be prepared, and that meant always have exactly what you will need in hand. Annaleigh came in front of Emerald, she was holding her cup, just the way Emerald did when she threw it to Serena. Annaleigh had foreseen the necessity of such an item, which she had poured into her cup because she taught that Diamond would only try to get revenge at her, maybe even Darien… maybe. After all, even with Collins's stupid intervention Annaleigh wasn't expelled.

But this little incident had proved that she should never have underestimated Diamond's perception over Darien's feelings towards Serena. Diamond had found Darien's Akiles's talon: Serena Tsukino. It was just really simple, to make up a rumor, as ridiculous as it may have been, even with Seiya's contribution, no more than the really retarded would believe it, that Serena had provoked such events to happen…even if some of it was kind of true (the fight in the locker room).

The rumor wasn't even important, the timing, the opportunity was perfectly planned…even if it was such a simple plan…and to have let Emerald do it, his personal minion; the one girl in the whole school that would never dream to say no to him, it was just to perfectly planned.

Annaleigh took in Emerald's frozen state to pour, slowly over her newly acquired uniform a whole cup of ink. (Always be prepared)

"Good luck cleaning that up" she said smiling at Emerald who let out a loud gasp while Annaleigh poured the ink on her. "Why don't you just send me the drycleaner's bill? Oh…and tell Diamond that he was kind of misinformed…I really, really wouldn't hold my breath for me to get expelled. Oh and just one more thing… I really would get rid of that twenty five cent bottle of highlights…it's doing horrors to that weed you called hair" Annaleigh said turning away from Emerald who made an escape to the ladies room.

Some of the people remained quiet while the others were collecting their hanging jaws. Then as Annaleigh approached the counter where she had left her purse, a person started clapping. Annaleigh turned to see and the whole room followed. She turned instantly to the nearer exit, as she took faster steps to the door and the hall that lead to the stairs, the clapping grew stronger, someone even whistled and everything.

'Why the hell am I been clapped for?' she thought and as she did, she crashed into Darien's frame who was trying to catch her while she tried to escape.

Serena was sitting on the stairs; she was with Molly, Sammy and Elena who still were helping Serena get "cleaned-up" as much as she could. They heard everything that Seiya had said.

(Time is running out from Muse)

Serena looked at Annaleigh with an expression of confusion, anger, deception, sadness and regret all together in one. Annaleigh, trapped in Darien's hold, turned to look at Serena for just a second. She tried to escape, but she should have known better, there was no way she was going to "out-strong" Darien.

"Look at me" Darien hissed, Annaleigh froze again and closed her eyes, like getting ready to be reprehended. "Look at me" Darien hissed again, louder and harsher this time. "Look at me Annaleigh" Darien demanded again, this time getting the response that he wanted. "Explain, now"

"Stop it, you are hurting me" yelled Annaleigh as she felt his strong grip on her fragile and delicate arms.

"Darien, let her go!" Andrew said as he put one hand on Darien's wrist. Darien reacted and let go of Annaleigh.

Annaleigh and Darien looked at each other during a long time. Then she looked down and started to shake her head.

"Just explain" Darien snapped saying. Annaleigh looked up, fighting back tears.

"What for?" Annaleigh demanded in a weak voice.

"Please" Darien said, calmer this time, to persuade her.

"I'm a vile, miserable bitch Darien" she said shrugging. "And you know about misery liking company, so I thought 'What the heck? Let's just make everyone as miserable as I am, he doesn't even want you, he wants her" she said signaling Serena, who's heart started pounding really hard.

"I don't love her, I love you!" Darien said and as the words were processed by everyone in the hall, Serena's heart stopped. (ouch!) The immense weight that the words carried, hurt in the hole that she was trying to close. But Darien had opened again the wound; this time Serena didn't see a way to cure it. Darien said that he loved Annaleigh… after that kiss… after everything… he didn't loved her.

"Oh, screw you!" Annaleigh yelled at Darien. "Screw you!" she said with a frustrated smile on her face as she whipped her tears from her face. "Why are you making this so freaking complicated?" she struggled with the words and didn't wait for another second and left, climbing down the stairs, passing Serena's and her friend's side as she did. Darien breathed heavily, swallowing deeply.

"Fuck!" he yelled, turned away from Serena and yelled the same line as much as he could. Andrew drew back from him, not daring to touch him at the moment. Darien stomped on the ground once as he finished with his rant and flew to catch Annaleigh, passing Serena's side.

Serena just kept her eyes closed as her heart collected some will to work again. Andrew sat near the group.

"I can't go home like this" she said

"Do you want to stay at my house?" Molly offered and Serena opened her eyes and sighed. Suddenly, didn't really knew why, but she was looking down, trying to contain her laugh. Since she actually looked like she was crying her brother put a hand on her back to soothe her. But she just couldn't keep her laughter contained anymore and she burst out laughing with tears in her eyes.

"Are you laughing?" asked in disbelief Elena. Serena laughed and sobbed at the same time.

"I don't know" she said sobbing which transformed into laughter again. Andrew, Molly, Sammy and Elena looked at each other, shrugged. They really didn't know what to do.

"Serena?" Seiya asked from the top of the stairs.

"Oh God! Night keeps getting better" Serena yelled sarcastically, still laughing a bit.

"Serena, I'm sorry" Seiya said honestly.

"Go to hell Seiya" said Serena shaking her head.

"Please let me explain" he said

"I don't want to hear it" she said

"I love you" he said

"Get in line" she said unemotionally.

"Serena, I know that you are mad at me, but please; I heard Annaleigh talking this afternoon…she never told a word to Emerald, I did" but Serena didn't bother to keep on listening. She stood up and started climbing down the stairs. Seiya began to follow when she turned abruptly and said: "Don't follow me".

* * *

(Enter here "Blackout" by Muse)

When Annaleigh reached the door of the diner it was around 10pm. There were just a couple of people in the dinner, and the game floor was pretty dead. Usually The Crown closed at 12pm but since there was a party in the white room, the place would remain open until 3am.

Once she stood on the sidewalk she considered the option of walking home but voted against it given that she was wearing heels and the late hour. She tried hailing a cab but all of them were full and she instantly, mentally kicked herself for not taking her car.

"Do you want me to give you a ride?" Darien asked from the door, Annaleigh ignored him. "Do you?" he insisted.

"You are drunk, you shouldn't drive" said Annaleigh, still turned away from him, staring at the busy street, trying to hail a cab.

"I'm sorry about what happened up stairs" he said taking slow steps to approach her.

"No you are not. You are just sorry you are sentenced to be with me, you are sorry you can't do anything about it, you are sorry you didn't meet her sooner, you are sorry that you made a stupid promise to me that means nothing. Only thing you are sorry is that you met me" said Annaleigh in a struggling voice, still looking at the street.

"Ok, enough! Want me to tell you the truth? I kissed her. I kissed her yesterday, I kissed her this afternoon and I kissed her at the party" said Darien losing his patience.

"Good, marry her for all I care" yelled Annaleigh, finally looking at him.

"This isn't as simple, damn it…that day Annaleigh…I promised that I would always be with you" said Darien.

"Honestly Darien, that happened ages ago…things change…it's not two years ago" and a cab honked and Annaleigh realized that it was free so she walked to take it. Darien tried to stop her from taking it by pushing close the door the moment she pulled it open.

"Leigh…that day" Darien started

"Go home, you are drunk" she said and pulled the door again and slid in.

Just as the cab started its engine to go to 29th and Peach Street, Annaleigh's address, Darien realized that Serena stood by the door.

He sighed.

"That color suits you" he said teasingly but Serena kept completely serious so he sighed.

"I'm terribly sorry; you don't deserve what happened to you. It's completely my fault" Darien said in that honest low voice of his that you wish you could spread like butter all over your body, that voice that made you shiver uncontrollably, that voice that made you forget your own, that voice that you would want to remember for the rest of your life.

"Why is it that people think that you can screw over someone else as long as you apologize in the end?" said Serena looking at him, arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm sorry about Emerald, you obviously got in the middle of something between me and Diamond" he said

"I'm not talking about Emerald; I couldn't possibly care less about her. I'm talking about you"

"What do you want me to say, Serena? That I'm in love with you?" he said in a harsher voice.

"Off course not" she said quickly (yes)

"Then what? That I'll leave Annaleigh for you? Is that what you want?"

"I'm not saying anything" (yes again)

"What do you want me to say" he demanded

"God…you are so drunk" Serena said disappointed at him. Darien simply scoffed.

"I'm not as nearly as drunk as I should be" he said, mocking the situation.

"Your mother would be so disappointed in you" she said and then she realized what a mistake that was, she moved her hands to hide her mouth, panic entered quickly into her system as she recognized Darien's expression, it was anger.

"You think you are so much better than me and Annaleigh, don't you? But you are the one that keeps hiding stuff. I really don't know if I hated lying back then, but I really hate when someone hides something from me and I really, really hate lying now. What are you so afraid that I find out? That you had a crush on me or that I had a crush on you? Not much to hide from there now is it!? That we were together? And I was what? Thirteen, fourteen? What kind of fantasy were you living in that you thought that you could have any sense or comprehension of what love means at that age? And I'm guessing you were just a tad younger, aren't I right Serena? Grow up!" he yelled.

"You know what? I'm glad that you have changed so much, because now I know that you will never be one fraction of the man that you used to be. I'm glad that I stayed away from you all those years. I'm glad that you have helped me open my eyes. Thanks so much! Thanks for curing me from this ridiculous obsession with the past. Thanks for showing me exactly what a jerk, what an asshole you've become. You two deserve each other" said Serena and she started to walk home.

She actually walked pretty fast for such a clumsy girl and so Darien decided to walk her home so he could be sure that nothing wrong would happen to her. As Darien started walking someone call him.

"Don't" said the youngest of the Kou's from the door.

(Have anyone notice that as people walk through that door the plot gets more dramatic?)

Darien turned to see him.

"I just want to make sure that she gets home ok" Darien said.

"I'll make sure of that myself" Seiya said walking pass by Darien.

"You know her then?" Darien asked and Seiya turned.

"Yes, better than you ever did" Seiya answered.

"I just… I don't know what she wants" Darien said with a very frustrated expression.

"Right now, she wants to be alone; but in general she has always wanted you" Seiya said.

"Why?" Darien asked.

"Don't ask me, I never understood that myself. But if you want my advice; stay away from her. Every time she's near you she gets hurt. Just stay away, Darien…if you want what's best for her" Seiya said and left his side to go to Serena.

* * *

Seiya didn't want to go to class that Friday afternoon. He was feeling particularly guilty, and with good reason. He actually never thought that Diamond would hurt Darien that bad, an intentional bump here and there yes…kick him in the face, in the other hand, never.

Diamond's boot had opened a big wound in Darien's head. Before anyone else could had the chance to react, Andrew left his goal-keeping position to go to Darien's aid. Darien's wound was bleeding a lot so he took off his shirt and just stayed with the white t-shirt he wore underneath.

He took his shirt and applied pressure to the wound all the while screaming at Diamond, demanding an explanation.

"What the hell is your problem?" Andrew yelled

"That's none of your business dinner boy!" Diamond yelled at Andrew.

"It's very well my business if you are launching at my best friend you ass-hat" Andrew scoffed

"What did you just call me?" Diamond asked almost launching himself at Andrew but was stopped by Nate Summers.

Everything else happened really quickly, Rubeous Mitchell separated them and took Diamond back to the locker room before a bigger fight would start; all the while Seiya stood frozen there watching as Darien bled.

The feeling was very confusing; he was feeling all the wrong things. He thought that he would hate seeing Darien been hurt, but he couldn't help but to like the little frenzy, the adrenaline rush, the magnificent feeling of him having just a little of all the hurt he had put Serena on.

'He got what he deserved' Seiya tried to convince himself.

But as the adrenaline pass and the frenzy stopped, guilt took over his mind.

Seiya wondered the halls of the school, trying to memorize them, which classes were in which halls, which were the colors in the walls, the flowers in every pot, and the spots in the floor. He really didn't have anywhere to go but class, and he couldn't face Serena after what he helped do, in some sort of way.

He didn't help, nor did he do something to prevent it. What kind of guy was he turning into?

Then he reached the media hall, where the IT classes where held and the school's news room and radio station were.

He was planning to pass them through but then he heard it, a loud a potent: "WHAT?!!!!"

"Shhhhhhhhh" Seiya heard someone shush. He came nearer the door and realized that there was no one guarding the entrance to the radio station or the news room, where the sound came from, so he went closer to see if he could hear anything else. He heard some voices coming inside, so he opened the door just a little bit and he heard the voices come clearer.

"But why would you want to get expelled?" asked in a high voice a small framed girl, she seemed familiar somehow; she wore her spiky, dark blueish hair down. Then he remembered from the week before that this was one of the girls that were looking for Serena that Sammy had talked too. She was sitting down in a chair just in front of someone else, by some very tall, dark haired, Asian featured guy.

"There isn't much for me to learn here, I already completed the mandatory curriculum for high school…I'm just stalling here…I have new plans now…and I really would do farther good being away than staying here" he heard the person who sat in front of the bluenette. Then he realized that the person's voice was Annaleigh Roberts's voice.

"I don't believe you" said the other girl.

"Then, why don't you just ask Lily for an absence permission like you did last year to go to the contest?" the guy asked

"The permission isn't the problem, I could very much miss the rest of the year that nothing could happen to me…I already finished" Annaleigh said

"Then, why?" the guy asked

"Because that's the only reason I could think at the moment that a formal investigation could be raised against Couch Collins" Annaleigh said calmly. The other two looked at each other.

"I don't understand" the girl said

"Darien got hurt today during practice…Diamond Blackmoon kicked his head while he was on the ground" Annaleigh said

"Oh my God! Is he alright?" the girl asked in shock covering her mouth with her hands.

"Nothing serious I hope, but his parents are taking him to the hospital anyway" Annaleigh said and then she started shaking her head in disbelief. "Andrew told me that Collins seemed very upset with Darien…he fears that he left from practice and let Diamond attacked him…I agreed with him" said Annaleigh

"What do you mean?" the guy asked

"I confronted Collins when I saw him leave the infirmary…he blames me" Annaleigh said looking down

"He blames you? Why?" the guy asked again

"He thinks my influence was what drove Darien to join the play" Annaleigh said and all of the sudden the girl spoke: "Serena!" she exclaimed, "I mean…I thought it was because of Serena"

"You are right Amy" Annaleigh said. 'That's right, her name was Amy' Seiya thought as he heard Annaleigh speak her name.

"I still don't get why he did that…what Mina told us…" said Amy but was interrupted by Annaleigh.

"Was that he did that out of the blue I guess… yes… he does that sometimes. My theory is that he originally wanted to play Serena a prank since she yelled at him in front of everyone, but things changed when he realized that he knew her from somewhere…it was like if being with her…triggered something that was sleeping inside of him…and I think he still doesn't realize how big his feelings are" Annaleigh said

"And you are ok with this Leigh? I mean you sound so calm…like if it didn't bother you that Darien liked someone else" the guy said

"I am curious of that myself" Amy said

"Darien doesn't belong with me" Annaleigh said with a smile, that made Seiya mad (because deep down he knows it's true) "You could say that I just borrowed him for a while…for much that I love him…for much that I want him with me…he will never be mine" Annaleigh said, never losing her smile. "I just want him to be happy" she finished.

"You sound honest" Amy said "But I still don't trust you"

"That's why you are the smartest person I know…the right person for the job" she said whipping quickly a tear that threaten to leave her sparkly hazel eyes.

"But…why risk getting suspended or expelled? Wouldn't it get on your permanent record? Even if after all this chaos they revoke it…it will be there forever" said Amy

"Amy…I don't think college is on my future…plus I'm going into the one business where it doesn't matter if you aced every single subject in school…as long as you can cry on queue and don't look like they are giving you a lobotomy when you are pretending to be in love, then you'll be ok"

"Still" Amy insisted.

"I don't care what happens to me…I trust my instincts, I won't get expelled…but I do need to start up a rumor about it…and I need Collins and Diamond Blackmoon to pay for what they've done."

"Tell me one thing then…what exactly is the game that you are playing with Serena? You said that you want Darien to be happy…but then why would you want to hurt Serena?" Amy asked.

"I never said that I wanted to hurt her…I just need her to hate me" Annaleigh said.

"To hate you? Why?" Amy asked more confused as the chat went along.

"Serena told me once that if she hated me, things would be easier… I need to give her a reason to hate me…you are going to help me with that."

"Last Monday…" Amy said and Annaleigh smiled. "I don't understand" Amy said.

"Jeez…I can follow any chess match in the universe but this…" the guy said, making the girls laugh in response.

"Did you bring your pen?" Annaleigh asked Amy.

"I thought I didn't work…and that the memory wouldn't have registered it."

"I thought you didn't trust me" said Annaleigh with a smile.

Amy opened her mouth in astonishment "Bitch" she breathed.

"Thank you" said Annaleigh gratefully.

* * *

"Why are so mad?" Seiya asked Serena when he caught up with her.

"Go away!" she said.

"Serena, I was jealous…I'm sorry" he said stopping right in front of her.

"Seiya, I was showered with paint today…courtesy of my present company, so I think it would be a very wise decision if you gave me time to hate you with all my heart!" she said angrily and walking around him as she finished, but he stopped her again.

"Are you mad at Annaleigh?" he asked.

"She wasn't the one who got me all red, now was she?" Serena asked.

"But are you mad at her?" he insisted.

"Off course I will always be mad at her! I envy her; she has never been the coward I've been."

"You know why they are together?" Seiya asked her.

"They love each other" Serena said "Darien said he loves her."

"Serena…" Seiya paused, he was about to do something he feared he would regret later "Annaleigh got pregnant two years ago."

(Reason enough?)

_Our hopes and expectations_

_Black holes and revelations_

_

* * *

Seriously people... if you review me I won't get mad_


	19. Chapter 19

Thanks for the reviews guys... seriously! I was like miles away from any source of Internet access so I had to call my sister and ask her to read me my emails. Thanks for everything, the criticism, the praises, everything.

I will be happy to answer any former questions or concerns you might have, sorry I didn't have the chance to answer last week...but like I told you Internet access was kind of tricky to get to...plus I spent almost the whole day swimming in the pool, sun bathing by the beach, sipping piña coladas (please note that I'm trying to make you all envy me).

Luckily for all of you I did get the chance to work a little on this chapter...hope everyone likes it. If you do, tell me; if you don't, tell me too; I really want to know.

But please enjoy! (I should probably say again that Sailor Moon is whole property of Naoko Takeuchi...if there was a doubt about that...you know...what I do own is some pretty cool outfit ideas for their high school uniform which I will post soon in my blog)

* * *

Chapter 19 Fixing

Annaleigh paid her fare to the taxi driver and stepped out of the cab. The cab drove away and Annaleigh walked closer to the front porch of her beautiful house. She took out her keys and opened the door. 10:30pm marked the clock in the foyer, and she was greeted by her housekeeper.

"Welcome, Miss Annaleigh" Heidi said with a hint of sleepiness in her voice.

"Thanks Heidi. Abigail already in bed?" Annaleigh asked.

"Yes Miss" Heidi answered. "Do you need anything else this evening?"

"Is my luggage already in my bedroom?"

"Yes Miss. It's waiting for you on your closet, as usual. Would you like any help packing?"

"No, Heidi. Thanks anyway, that will be all for tonight" and Annaleigh walked upstairs to her bedroom making a detour to her little sister's room. She loved spending time in that room, it was still decorated with the paper wall from her nursery, and it had a castle and a magical forest and a stream that was surrounded by a multitude of different colored wild flowers. Her bed was shaped like a princess carriage and it took most of the bedroom's east side. On the other side, her dresser and her antique Victorian doll house were placed. Annaleigh could see how almost every single one of Abby's Barbies were lying in the floor. Abby was sleeping soundly in her bed/carriage, so Annaleigh tried not to do any kind of noise that might wake her sister up. Annaleigh ventured inside the bedroom picking up her sister's dolls and putting them inside the trunk that was destined for them. After picking and putting the dolls away, Annaleigh sat on one of the little chairs near the tea-party table. She breathed into the peacefulness of her sister's room and she wished to be a little girl again… to play with Amber for hours and hours… she wished for a second chance so she wouldn't spoil everything again…ever.

She realized then and there that she had something in common with Serena Tsukino: she felt guilty, she felt guilty for her sister's death… just like Serena felt guilty for the Shields car accident; but neither one of those terrible accidents were their fault.

She left from Abby's room and went into hers. She entered the rich and glamorous room, decorated in black, white and deep purple. A big queen size bed was the focal point; a beautiful mirror was on top of the bed and by its sides, two dark wood side tables stood. Her bedroom had a beautiful black chandelier that complimented the room and just in front of the bed, a small white marble fireplace. A glass desk rested near a big window that looked to the backyard. Her shared bathroom was in the other side of the room and it connected to her large walk-in closet that she and her sister also shared. (I told you that the house was very nicely decorated…I kind of envy her room)

She went inside her walk-in and took out her beige and brown suit case. She put it on her bed and proceeded to open it. She took the remote control of her stereo and turned it on. "This ain't a love song" stared playing and she laughed at the irony of the lyrics.

She walked to her desk and turned on her computer. She waited a second for it to show her desktop background (a picture of her a Darien during the Valentine's Ball) and she went immediately to click on the icon of the browser of her preference. She googled and looked for the next flight to L.A.

After selecting her window seat and a suit on The Tower in Beverly Hills (since staying with her father was out of the question) she paid for the week long trip (daddy's card of course) and then, after sorting out a lot of papers and putting them in an envelope with Darien's name on it, proceeded to pack, 'cause she was supposed to leave on Saturday night… Saturday night as in the next day.

She put in the bag two jeans, several casual shirts, a button down shirt, a black skirt, a demin mini, some pajamas, a hoodie, her yoga top and sweats, two bikinis, two cocktail dresses, her sneakers, two dressy pair of shoes, boots and a sun dress. The thing was that she didn't know what to wear for the audition. Dressy or casual? Cute or punk? For the part or just as herself? She didn't have a clue, so she decided to go with her favorite pair of jeans, a white tank, a red leather jacket and her most fabulous pair of boots.

After packing all of that, she decided that she would finish packing the next day. She took off her shoes that were killing her and she mentally kicked herself again for not taking them sooner. She went to her bathroom and wash-off her make-up. She took off her dress and went to her walk-in to grab a pair of pj's. She returned to her bathroom and brushed her teeth. After applying her nighttime face cream (she's scared to death of wrinkling) she went to bed; it was a little after twelve.

She drifted to an uneasy sleep and soon enough she realized that someone was sharing her bed. A pair of arms were wrapped around her waist and pulled her into the warm chest of their owner. She looked up to her nightstand and saw that her alarm clock announced that it was passed one o'clock.

"You should have just gone home" she murmured softly and sunk back into bed. Darien didn't answer her for a while. He didn't want to tell her that he had followed Serena and Seiya back to her house…just to make sure she got there safely…(sure tell yourself that).

"I'm sorry" he mumbled softly into her hair. Annaleigh then realized that she had kept her stereo on and "Kiss and say goodbye" was playing now (was her stereo kidding her?).

With one of his hands he moved the hair that was guarding the skin of her neck. He started moving his nose up and down her neck all so softly, inhaling her aroma. Darien paused and realized that he was expecting a different aroma, almost hoping, but it wasn't vanilla. He kissed her neck tracing a path up to the line of her jaw; all the while his other hand was outlining her legs and inner thighs. Annaleigh felt relief in her heart, those were the hands that could touch her, not Diamond's, and just to make the horrible sensation and feeling of that afternoon disappear, Annaleigh, who knew better than to let Darien continue with that particular alluring game, let him go on with it.

Darien's other hand lifted her so very gently and moved her from where she rested on her side, to be laid under his body. That hand moved over her back, drawing patterns until it moved behind her neck. He pulled her closer and began devouring her lips. Darien stopped with the kiss as soon as it started. Annaleigh didn't say anything but gave him a doubtful expression. Her mouth didn't taste like the cherries he was getting addicted to. She smelled like apples, she tasted like cinnamon. It wasn't unpleasant, it was very good, it was really good, it was familiar…but it weren't cherries…it wasn't vanilla.

They looked at each other and let the music filled their hearts and bodies, so they kissed and said goodbye. Annaleigh moved her arms and tangled them around Darien's neck. She felt his soft hair under her delicate fingers and pulled his hair roughly, bringing Darien back from her neck to her lips.

Besides the voices of The Manhattans, Annaleigh's soft moans were the only thing Darien could hear. He moved one of her long legs and wrapped it around his hip, felling the ever so soft skin that she so charily took care for with thousands different lotions. He pressed himself to her, making Annaleigh gasp from the unexpected contact. He moved from her lips for just a second so he could take off his shirt and tossed it to the floor. He then locked his hands around her face and brought it up carefully.

"I want you to know that I do love you" Darien said in a low whisper.

"I know that" Annaleigh answered him.

Those were the only phrases they exchanged that night.

He kissed her lips, her eyelids, her cheeks, her jaw, her neck. He kept tracing her figure with his lips and hands. He pulled up the hem of her top revealing the skin of her belly. He kissed her. He lifted even more the top and eventually striped her from it all together and tossed it away with his shirt leaving her with her sports bra and pajama bottoms. Darien started caressing her figure and showered it with his kisses. Then, he heard Annaleigh gasp again as he touched her weak spots.

They continued with their game for hours and then succumbed to a much needed sleep.

When Annaleigh woke up she realized that her bed was empty on Darien's side. She pulled her bed sheet and wrapped herself in it. Still sitting on her bed she looked around her room for evidence, to prove if he was around or if he had already left. She looked at her clock. It marked 8 o'clock—that was weird; usually he wouldn't have woken up until noon.

"You look lovely" he said sitting in the comfy purple chair by the fireplace where they have fallen asleep so many times before. He already had his pants on; he was reading the papers that were on the envelope with his name on.

"Thanks" she said sleepily.

"You should go back to sleep, you look tiered" he said and showed her his smirk…looking a bit smug by his remark, leaving the papers back on their envelope and putting them back on her desk.

"Oh, I'm not tiered" she said and smiled back, brushing her hair with her hand, trying to wake up properly.

"That hurt my ego" he said, not losing his breathtaking smirk.

"Good…I meant for that to happen."

"Was it really that bad for you? You weren't complaining last night."

"What? You want me to start clapping now?"

"That good?" he asked surprised.

"Like you said, I wasn't complaining last night."

"Shower then?"

She looked at him and shook her head.

He then moved from his spot and launched himself on top of her making her laugh freely. He brushed away the hair on her face and looked intently into her eyes.

"What time is your flight?" he asked.

Annaleigh wasn't surprised that he had figure it out. Actresses… who in the world understood them? She didn't want to leave anything behind that might make her return…that included him… that's what she was trying to do… to leave without taking anything with her.

"Seven" she said

"Are you sure about that shower?" he asked again and claimed her lips in a small kiss.

"If I have a _shower_ now… I won't have the will to leave" she said to him and he understood perfectly what she had meant. It didn't matter if it was a short trip and that she was coming back. The point was that she was leaving him…for good.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked (want the list in alphabetical order?)

"Yes…" there was a long pause. "We love each other"

"And why is that so terrible?" he asked her in the lowest and huskiest of voices.

"Because we stopped being in love with each other. Darien, your heart never was yours to give away. _She_ still has it... just like you never gave her _hers_ back." she whispered into his ear and then moved to give him a peck on his lips. She stood up from her bed and moved to her bathroom… she closed the door behind her.

* * *

10 hours earlier.

"Who told you?" Serena asked after being catatonic for a few minutes.

"You already knew?" Seiya asked completely shocked.

"Who told you Seiya?" Serena asked losing her patience.

"No one… I mean… I heard her talking."

Serena kept quiet for a while and resumed her walk. She didn't say anything else during the entire night. Seiya was feeling extremely edgy cause of it.

"Please tell me what's wrong?" he kept pushing her, but she never did say anything until she got to her house. Just in front of her house she asked Seiya to go into Darien's old one and help her climb up the apple tree so she could sneak into her room without being noticed.

"Are you crazy?" Seiya asked

"Seiya, this is your fault, I look like if a red abstract painting threw up on me" Serena said, Seiya started laughing. "I can't believe you are laughing…you are a loser Seiya"

"Says the abstract human painting" Seiya said.

"Shut up" Serena yelled at him.

"Fine!" he exclaimed "I'll help you" he finished.

Seiya took Serena's hand and guided her to the un-kept fence of the former Shields house. Serena flinched as she took steps in direction of the house she once knew as her own. Seiya opened the iron gate which was covered by a lot of plants and weeds and took again Serena's hand and led her to the big apple tree. The thick pieces of wood, which made the short stair for climbing the tree, were still there; but the first one was still the biggest problem for Serena and her brother Sammy; since they were the shortest, they always found themselves in the need to ask for help to jump and reach the first wood step. Seiya took Serena from under her arms and in one quick move lifted her up so she could reach the first step.

"You reached it?" Seiya asked with difficulty since he couldn't see if she had reached it, he was trying to hold his breath…since it was impossible to breathe while lifting Serena (and she only waited a bit less than 100 pounds).

"Yes. You can let go now" Serena said in a whisper, while holding to the trunk of the apple tree.

Seiya backed away a couple of steps and watched carefully as he waited for Serena to climb the tree on her heeled boots.

"Be careful!" Seiya whispered urgently.

Serena didn't had trouble with the rest of the tree and soon she found herself standing on the tree's large and thick wooden branch that gave her passage to her house.

Seiya walked away from the Shield's house and walked until he could see Serena climb the veranda of her balcony.

"Got there ok?" Seiya said loudly.

"Shhhhhh" Serena shushed him.

"Well, did you?" he asked again a bit more low.

"Yes!" she whispered.

"Serena?"

"What?!" she whispered again

"Did you really know? I mean, did she tell you? You didn't seem surprised by it" Seiya said, totally ignorant of the fact that Serena's heart wasn't working properly… actually it stopped working when she heard Darien say that he didn't loved her.

"Seiya, I stopped being surprised by anything that Darien does a long while ago. Goodnight" she said and opened the door/window that led to her teal and pink bedroom.

She turned on her nightstand light and she looked at herself in the mirror of her closet.

"Oh God!" she sighed at the look of her new dress, which now looked like a vintage hippie dress. She took her coat and boots off and then grabbed her pj's and put them on. Then, she took the dress and opened the door of her room really carefully, trying to not make a single sound. She moved a foot at a time, really quietly to her and her brother's bathroom and then opened and closed the door quickly.

She turned on the light and finally looked at the mess that she was at the moment. She stared at the image, and she frowned, she couldn't help but think and feel that at some level, she deserved what she got.

She took off her pj's and then got into the shower. As she was washing her hair, her mother knocked the door.

"Sweetie, is that you?" Ikuko asked from the other side.

"Sweetie Serena or Sweetie Sammy, mom?" Serena asked rolling her eyes realizing that the minute she opened her mouth her mom would know who it was in the shower right now.

"Oh, Serena! Thank God it's you! I almost had a heart attack when I heard the shower and didn't hear anyone coming in the house. I thought… well I thought that it wasn't you" Ikuko said, still with alarm in her tone.

"What? Did you thought that someone had climbed through my window and come in and take a shower, mom?" Serena said.

"Well… you never know… Well… I know I sound silly. Where is your brother? I thought we agreed that you two were going to arrive here together"

"Well… (Think of an excuse quickly) he must be on his way… he was dropping Elena off" Serena said, trying to sound as convincing as possible.

"Oh… it's ok I guess. They are so sweet together, don't you think? And did you have fun tonight?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you, mom" Serena answered, trying to wash the roots of her bangs that still dripped red.

"Oh… that's great sweetie… well have a good shower love, don't stay up too late" said Ikuko.

"Will try…" Serena whispered to herself.

After two showers, and much, much thinking over events, dates, accidents and horrible incidents, she finally decided to dry herself with her fluffy pink towel and then put back on her pj's. She opened the door of her bathroom and then walked downstairs to the laundry room where she put out some soup, Vanish and the bucket were her mom usually left some clothes to rinse overnight. She read the label on the Vanish tag and then went to the kitchen to warm up some water so she could follow the instructions perfectly.

"Want some help?" her brother offered as he entered the kitchen.

"Do I still have paint on my hair?" Serena asked showing her brother the roots that she so carefully scrubbed over and over again.

"No… no sign of red" Sammy said.

"Sammy, tell me the truth… did it really happened… I mean… this day… this crazy day… this crazy week… one minute I'm hating Darien Shields then his is tutoring me and then we are kissing and then I'm getting soaked on paint… did all of this really happened" she said completely calm, looking at her brother's intense sea-blue eyes.

"You didn't tell me that he was tutoring you… you don't tell me much lately" he finally said.

"I don't know what to do Sammy…" Serena drifted to the stove to take the warm water that was about to boil.

"Talk to me" Sammy offered.

"You wouldn't understand" she said.

"You would? Darien?"

"No… Annaleigh" she finished.

"Serena…you can't possibly be thinking that you can trust that harpy again" that wasn't a question at all.

"She is not a harpy Sammy, you just don't get her" Serena said.

"After what she did to you today…"

"She didn't do anything… you heard Seiya… and all of this got to do with Darien… I should have just stayed away… what was I thinking?"

"Serena, listen to me" and she moved from measuring Downy to look at him. "Why would you trust her?"

"Because now everything makes perfect sense"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm such an idiot… I should have seen it before…"

"Serena…please tell me…tell me what is it"

"I never understood why…"

"Why, what?" Sammy asked in a very frustrated expression.

"She is going to break-up with him"

"What are you talking about?" Sammy asked again pulling her sister close to him so she could react. (Enter "Satellite Heart" yes…youtube again)

"I'm tiered… I promise we'll talk in the morning" and then her brother let her go and she went to bed.

Next morning she woke up and turned on her computer. She found two new emails. One from the School's Tutoring program and the other one from Annaleigh.

She read the first.

_Dear Ms. Serena Louise Tsukino,_

_In behalf of the Academy's Student-Student Tutoring Program we found ourselves in the position to inform you that due to resent events your current advisor and tutor, Mr. Darien James Shields, will not be able to attend and full field his responsibilities._

_Owning to this fact, we are pleased to inform you that a new tutor has been selected to accompany you during the rest of the semester, Mr. Jackson Sapphire Blackmoon. As accustomed, with all of your past tutors, you will be meeting once a week on Monday mornings in Cubicle #4 for Algebra in the South Wing of Brian Samuels Library._

_Hoping you have a pleasant weekend,_

_Caroline Jennings_

_Secretary for the Student-Academic Advanced Programs._

Darien didn't want to tutor her anymore… at least the thought passed her mind.

She read the next, the one from Annaleigh.

Subject: I'm sorry

Serena,

I really hope you will forgive me someday.

Leigh

Attachment: Best and Most Interview.

Serena heard the interview and then she grabbed the first pair of jeans that were on her floor and then picked a random shirt of her dresser, not sure if it was weather appropriate, she didn't care. She lunged for the stairs and made in record time to the door, not caring if she was still wearing bubblegum pink bunny slippers.

"Sweetie, where are you going?" Ikuko's voice was heard from the kitchen.

"Out!" Serena yelled pretty annoyed.

"Out where?" Ikuko asked again.

"Annaleigh's!" was all that Ikuko heard from her only daughter, that's why she didn't answered when she asked why was her brand new dress in a bucket rinsing in Vanish and Downy. She turned to the kitchen's clock, it was still very early for Serena, barely 9… a.m.

* * *

Annaleigh heard a knock on her bedroom door; she was just finishing packing and still had her bathrobe on; she went to get the door and saw the petite blond, she was a wreck, she obviously hadn't notice the fact that she was wearing bubblegum pink bunny slippers and that she was wearing a pair of bright yellow jeans and a dark blue shirt…it wouldn't have been her first choice, but didn't necessarily looked bad…except for the slippers. Her hair was also a mess; it wasn't done it her usual cute buns, it was sticking everywhere from a lose ponytail. Looking passed her outfit, she noticed instantly her blood-shut eyes and the dark circles around her eyes. Poor thing… But Annaleigh knew that the plan was clear, she needed to have her eyes on the prize, that meant trouble… she needed to do it (such a bunch of crap). "Hi Serena, what have I done now to deserve this pleasure?" Annaleigh said and at that same moment, when she would have usually let her in, she clutched the door closer to her; this made Serena even more angry and suspicious.

"You got pregnant?" she let the anger sank through her teeth.

Annaleigh took a deep breath before she answered. "Seiya told you that?" that answer clearly through Serena backwards, she wasn't expecting her to know… but not expecting Annaleigh to know something was just like not expecting to gain weight during the Holiday's—pointless.

"Was he right?" Serena asked. Maybe Annaleigh could do this with a very different approach; she didn't need to destroy her just now, maybe this could even help her have some mental sanity. So she decided to lie; not only cause she pitied Serena, but for other two different reasons.

"Of course not" Annaleigh said, her reasons being: number one, she was genuinely sorry about everything that happened the day before; number two, Darien was in the shower as they spoke, knowing _that_ would have destroyed any chance for them getting together in this century. "You know me better than that" Annaleigh added, clutching the door closer and closer to her.

"How can I even know if you are saying the truth?" Serena asked.

"What could I possibly gain by lying to you?" Annaleigh said.

"Good point, but that doesn't explain why won't you let me come into your room" Serena said accusingly. Annaleigh took a deep breath and then pushed the door open. Serena glared at Annaleigh before she came in, she looked around the bedroom and realized that it looked normal enough, no baby things, no Darien's clothes, only thing out of place were the luggage by the door.

"Are we done here?" Annaleigh said impatiently holding still the door of her bedroom.

"Going somewhere?" Serena said eyeing the luggage.

Annaleigh was starting to get nervous, she needed to kick Serena out before she realized that he was in the shower… thank the Lord she still had the bloody stereo on, otherwise even harebrained Serena would have heard the shower.

"Not that is any of your business, but yes" Annaleigh said leaving from her spot by the door.

"Where to?" Serena asked, letting the best of her curiosity slip away.

"L.A." Annaleigh answered. "Have an addition"

"American Idol?" Serena asked mockingly. Annaleigh rolled her eyes and led out a soft laugh.

"Smart-ass! But no, no American Idol. It's for a movie" Annaleigh said a led a small smile show in her beautiful face.

"Oh my God Leigh, that's amazing!" Serena said with a smile, but then she let it drop as soon as it came.

"Thanks…Serena, look, I really need to finish packing, could we talk when I get back from California?" Annaleigh said.

"Darien said to me that I would never have a grasp out of what love means" said Serena, ignoring Annaleigh's request. Annaleigh ran out of words at hearing her. All of her perfectly planned plan was going through the window as they spoke. How dare Darien! Stupid, gorgeous boyfriend (ex or whatever) of hers! "Maybe… maybe…" Serena trailed.

"Serena, stop it. Don't think about that, he was really drunk last night, I should be the one speaking, he almost broke my arm yesterday…" Annaleigh said "and my legs…" she whispered. Serena turned to look at her.

"Why your legs?" Serena asked.

"No reason" Annaleigh said quickly. "Look, he was drunk and mad and probably regrets ever saying that, just… go home, get a shower, a comb and a matching pair of shoes" Annaleigh said.

"I don't think the shots had anything to do with what he told me last night… he broke my heart, Leigh" Serena said approaching Annaleigh's purple chair. While Serena walked to it, she notice the other thing that didn't belonged in her room: Darien's soccer team jacket…there wasn't denying that it was his, the big 10 below the letters that were scattered to form his last name where there, in between the black, red and white. Annaleigh realized what Serena had stopped to look at. Serena immediately went to the bathroom.

"Shit! Serena…" Annaleigh said but didn't run to catch up to her…that might had given too much away and there was still the possibility that Darien had had enough grace to close it when he got in to begin with—no such luck.

Serena snapped the bathroom's door open and looked around. Annaleigh cursed again under her breath.

Her perfect plan…the plan that she had so carefully been trying to put together since two years ago was drifting away.

First thing Serena noticed while entering was that the mirror that hanged above the sinks was foggy. There wasn't something out of place either… there wasn't men's clothing lying around the floor… there was however the extra used towel…but that easily could have been either Annaleigh's or Abigail's for drying their hair, and then Serena remembered that Annaleigh in fact had her hair still wet, proof of the towel's use. But what Serena didn't place was why did the shower was still running…there was no one in the bathroom…and then it occurred to her that maybe Abigail had left it on and Annaleigh hadn't notice that she had stepped out of it, since their shared bathroom connected to their rooms through their connected walk-in closet. Abby could have easily gone to her room and forgot to turn off the shower… sure that made perfect sense.

While Serena returned to Annaleigh's room, Annaleigh was looking through the window.

"I must be losing my mind" Serena said.

"What exactly is that you were expecting to find here?" Annaleigh asked her, not moving from her spot.

"I don't know…maybe a reason for it all to make sense again…thinking that you were once pregnant…it would have meant…it would have explained why Darien loved you…why he couldn't, why he wouldn't break-up with you" Serena said, Annaleigh sighed. "It would have explained why he couldn't be with me…" Serena trailed off and Annaleigh sighed again and turned to look at her friend…

'You shouldn't have said that' Annaleigh thought. "Because you two are meant to be together, right? And it comes to you, the fact that I am dating your Prince Charming the most unbelievable thing in the world… of course… Darien would only have stayed with me all this time for compromise… for guilt… not because he loves me but because he felt the need to, is that right?" Annaleigh said angrily to Serena.

"No… I didn't mean for it to sound like that, Leigh…I'm sorry. But don't you realize… you never were pregnant… and Darien is still with you… I'm only confusing him… you are the one he really loves" Serena said, ignoring the truth, ignoring the fact that she was speaking a hurting lie that was digging an abysm inside Annaleigh's heart. "You have my word… I won't come between the two of you"

"I have your word?" Annaleigh asked with skepticism in her tone. "Well that's very, very fond of you. What would have I done without your word? Probably just sleep with him, right? Well… now that I have your word… could you please leave, I have packing to do; and please take his jacket back to him, he gave it to me yesterday in the party and I'm not going to be able to give it back to him this week." Annaleigh said.

"Leigh… I'm sorry… About yesterday…about Darien…everything" Serena said with regret in her words.

"Oh save it! You really shouldn't be" Annaleigh said smoother this time, and then turned from Serena and started gazing outside her window one more time. Serena took this as her queue to leave.

"I am sorry Leigh, and I still consider you one of my best friends" Serena said and closed the door behind her, taking Darien's jacket with her. Annaleigh shut her eyes really hard and she tried to not let herself be consumed by the sadness in her abysm.

After a while of her being by the window, she felt the pressure of a hand on her shoulder. She was taken aback and yelped by her sudden fright.

"Hey it's just me" Darien said, hair dripping wet…he looked like he had just gotten out of the shower; which reminded Annaleigh to wonder where the hell were he when Serena got in the bathroom.

"Hey…where were you?…just now…that had to be the longest shower ever" Annaleigh said, still looking frighten, like she just had seen a ghost.

"I was with Abby, when I got in the shower I heard her up I went to her room from the short-cut and took her temperature. That's ok, right?" Darien asked.

"Oh…yeah sure, I just kept hearing the shower" Annaleigh said.

"Yeah…she was running a fever so I heated up the bathroom and let it steamed a bit of her to get in. Thought that the warm might do her well with the fever, after that I helped her take a bath… she seemed better" Darien said.

"Thanks… I didn't notice the fever yesterday" Annaleigh said.

"Don't worry…it wasn't that high" Darien said back and went to hug Annaleigh.

"Maybe I shouldn't go… I don't want to leave her alone" Annaleigh said.

"Your mom isn't coming?" Darien asked.

"She is coming today… I guess mom can handle her for a week" Annaleigh answered.

"You make her sound like a monster" Darien said, still hugging her tightly.

"She is a monster… she hasn't been here in a month… I personally don't care, but Abby misses her" Annaleigh said sadly.

"What about your dad?" Darien asked

"I don't know…supposedly he was closing some contracts in the studio. It usually doesn't take him more than a week but he left on Monday… has only called me twice"

"Don't worry for Abby…your mom and your dad aren't having affairs again. They know better than to bring themselves an Armageddon twice, like you said, this isn't two years ago. Everything is going to be alright, Abby is going to get better in the summer and everything is going to be as it was supposed to be" Darien said and finished his declaration by giving her a kiss on her forehead.

"Thanks Darien" Annaleigh said and moved from his embrace, putting a hand of distance between them. "I should…finish packing" Annaleigh finished.

"Yeah…I should go home before Silvia has a heart attack" Darien said and started moving to the purple chair by the fire place. "Leigh, have you seen my jacket?" Darien asked looking for it.

"No… maybe you left it at The Crown. Darien, don't forget to take the envelope that's in my desk when you go." Annaleigh said.

"Well…never mind, I'll stop by Andrew's and ask him thanks for this" Darien said taking the envelope from the desk.

"Darien… you haven't told anyone about… about my… miscarriage…have you?" Annaleigh said in a low intense voice.

"Of course not. Why? Have anyone…?"

"No…no, don't…don't worry. I'll handle it" Annaleigh said, thinking about how she was going to torture Seiya for having the biggest mouth in the history of the planet.

"Have a good trip Leigh-leigh, I'm going to miss you" Darien said turning to give her another hug when she wasn't paying attention and then after it, after their last peck as a couple he left.

That was it, she did it…Darien was finally free.

Then she noticed again that her stereo was still on and contributing to her harmed heart. She noticed because the music of her, until that moment, favorite Duran Duran song was playing.

The lyrics captivated her.

_Came in from a rainy Thursday  
On the avenue  
Thought I heard you talking softly_

_I turned on the lights, the TV  
And the radio  
Still I can't escape the ghost of you_

_What has happened to it all?  
Crazy, some'd say  
Where is the life that I recognize?  
Gone away_

_But I won't cry for yesterday  
There's an ordinary world  
Somehow I have to find  
And as I try to make my way  
To the ordinary world  
I will learn to survive_

"Shut-up" she yelled at the stereo before hitting the "stop" button. 'Ordinary world my ass' she thought. She looked at her ready bag and then decided to make a few modifications into her trip specifications; she changed the round trip for a one was ticket. She moved to her closet and started to pack as fast as she could everything essential, the rest she'll have to buy.

Rodeo Drive, look out!

* * *

(Ordinary world by Duran Duran)

Serena walked slowly through the park. She was directing to her favorite spot, near the park's lake were Darien had taught her and Sammy with Darien's dad help, how to ride a bike.

After a couple of thousands falls, just before she was about to give-up, Darien told her 'I believe in you' and she did it. She rode her bike for the first time, sans fall.

There was a metal rail that separated the paved road from the park's greenery that lead to the lake, which was filled with ducks of every color and size.

Serena stopped in this particular place and began gazing at the lake. Suddenly the February, cool, morning breeze made her shiver. She held to Darien's jacket looking for comfort and a little warm. By doing that she smelled his intense aroma. How could a guy smell so damn good? I mean, was it possible? The smell of cherry wood was so strong… she also smelled the deep scent of roses…dried roses… was it possible… that he smelled like roses?

"Planning to trace the scent back to its owner?" a voice asked her. She froze in place, opened her eyes and moved very slowly to look into the direction where the voice came from. She prayed that it wasn't him…but once again Murphy laughed at her and at the irony of one of his many rules: "Never sniff the devil's jacket, because he shall appear". And so he did.

"Well…not much tracing left" Serena whispered, pushing the jacket away from her face.

"Did you find it at Andrew's?" Darien asked.

"No…" Serena shook her head and exchanged a knowing look with Darien.

"Annaleigh" they say at the same time. They smiled at each other and the predictability of her friend's actions.

"Here" Serena said as she offered him his jacket.

"Don't worry…just put it on; it's chilly today" Darien said.

"Thanks" Serena said and did as he said.

Both of them looked at the lake for a long time, not saying anything, but just being near each other made them both clam and exited at the same time.

"Darien"_______ "Serena" they called each other at the same time. They laughed again.

"Me first" Serena said. "I'm sorry… about yesterday. I shouldn't have said anything… I was just… I don't know. It's just being a very confusing week"

"I know. I'm sorry too. I know that what I said to you was probably the most horrible thing ever. I'm really sorry about that… but in my defense" and he smirked "you can be very annoying at times meat-ball head" he said it so naturally. Serena turned to look at him, surprised that he had repeated the same old phrase that he always said after apologizing. "What?" Darien asked confused, since Serena's mouth was hanging open.

"Nothing" she said, regaining her composure, she turned from him again. "I…" but she was interrupted.

"I want to be friends with you" Darien said.

"You don't even want to be my tutor" Serena added.

"Who told you that?"

"I received an email" Serena accused.

"Serena…the email said that I can't be your tutor…not that I didn't want to be"

"What?"

"Look… since Annaleigh is not going to be around much… I have to be body president for a change… plus from now on I'm going to be taking some advanced A.P. courses that I need to take if I want to have a chance at a scholarship in Harvard"

"A scholarship? I thought you were already accepted… I mean that's the rumor"

"I was… but with a sport's scholarship… I'm quitting the team. I made the decision yesterday… Collins made it just too easy for me to realize how much I don't need soccer right now… sort out some priorities and figure out that what I have always wanted is to be a doctor… Annaleigh of course figured me out before I did and left me with some research she did. She found this foundation… the 'Karen Thomas Foundation', they help students with excellent academic records and she even sent in all of the paper work. I received a letter saying that I need to do some pre-work in other to get the scholarship… but if everything turns out ok…then I'll be going to Harvard. Can you believe it?" Darien didn't even finished his last sentence when Serena closed their distance claiming him into a strong (for her) hug. When she finally separated herself from him, he looked very pleased. "What was that for?" Darien asked her.

"No particular reason… I guess I'm just happy for you" Serena said smiling.

"Thanks… Meat-ball head. I appreciate it"

"Wow… Harvard, huh? What will the team do without you?" Serena said and added a friendly punch to his arm.

"I don't know… guess I will piss Collins a lot… which will actually be very funny to watch"

"Can't wait to see his face today at the speech" Serena said

"Well… you might have to catch me up to it… I'm not going"

"You are not?"

"Nope… I have to take a stand after what he did to me… what he did to Annaleigh"

"Sure… can't believe he actually wanted to expel her" Serena said in a non-emotional voice…kind of disappointed that the conversation had drifted to talking about Annaleigh and how wonderful she is.

"Yeah… I mean… luckily he got it all wrong" Darien said moving his body to the rail, looking at the lake.

"What do you mean?" Serena asked him.

"It was all pure luck that Collins thought that I joined the play because of Leigh" Darien said, smile showing in his breathtaking face.

"Well… why did you?" Serena asked him, pretending to sound as if she wasn't interested by the subject in discussion (yeah…as if).

"It was because of you… I thought that was kind of obvious. God only knows what I would have been capable of if Collins had mess with you" Darien said.

Serena turned immediately to look at him, straight in the eye. "What do you mean?"

"That the second I crash into you… I knew that I had to found some kind of way to get closer to you… to know you… it was as if you were my key to my past… it was as if I needed to _follow the rabbit down the hole_ to get to know myself"

"Follow the rabbit?" Serena repeated making a question out of it. Darien signaled to her feet and she saw her bubblegum pink slippers. "Oh…"

"Will you, Serena?" Darien asked, mere centimeters away from her face. They both started to breath with a lot of difficulty.

"Will I what?" Serena asked in one breath.

"Be my friend?" Darien said and as he pronounced the word friend she noticed the distinction between what was real, what was not and what will definitely break her heart and Annaleigh's in the process.

"What about Leigh?"

"She is your friend" Darien said "Don't you think that since she was so eager to see us both together, she will be contempt with us being friends?"

"Darien… we can't be friends" Serena urged, not noticing that their distance had almost disappeared.

"I have to be honest with you… I love her… but I feel this connection…this gravity towards you… that I have never felt for anyone else"

"You are talking like you have been dating for the past twenty years" Serena joked.

"Feels like it… and it also feels like nothing…since I have no past to remember" Darien said, and his affirmation only added fuel to the fire of the moment they were having. That fire made Serena remember the other reason why she should stay away from him.

"I really can't" she said.

"I'm sorry" Darien said moving away this time.

"What for" Serena asked, surprised by the sudden distance.

"For whatever I did to you before the accident… I get that I must have hurt you…pretty bad… whatever it was it's making you make this decision, am I right?" (Why did he have to read her so well and so wrong at the same time?)

"It's not like that" Serena said. "It's actually the other way around. I hurt you…and I'm never going to have the chance to apologize to you"

"Do it now then" Darien offered.

"I can't" Serena answered after a long pause and a lot of consideration and debating the pro's and con's in her head one more time in her head. "I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing."

"Sorry" she said again and Darien looked at her.

"It's annoying if you are not saying what you are apologizing for."

"Sorry" she said again "sorry" she whispered.

"Fine!" Darien said and laughed. "Don't tell me… but I bet you I'm going to find out one day" he said and nudged her. Serena smiled.

"So… want to hang out?"

Well… it is not a crime if they are hanging out as friends…just friends right?

"As friends right?" Serena voiced her thoughts.

"That's all I'm asking for" Darien said…sadly he meant it; sadly Serena knew that he had meant it. So she consider the possibility… being friends was not confusing Darien, right? I mean… Darien was allowed to have friends, that wasn't like coming in between him and Annaleigh, right? (sure…tell yourself that if it makes you sleep better at night).

"Ok… let's be friends" Serena said, and Darien smiled.

* * *

So after 19 chapters we are finally going to start telling their story... God I actually feel awful that this chapter, the ending is so cheesy and so freaking cute... I feel awful cause you all know me better than that, right? I mean the happier they get...harder is the fall... (enter evil laughter).

Well...just to make everyone hate even more I am happy to announce that am going back to the beach next week... so yeah hate me.

(If it makes anyone feel better I might add that my back is sun-burned and I have a least a thousand mosquito bites in my legs and my cousins got to film dolphins and see them do cool stuff and I didn't cause I was busy being eaten alive by mosquitoes...got to love the beach!)

In other important news, I am proud to announce that I found myself a new beta... **thanx sailormoon489 you are awesome, I owe you big time.**

Now... coming attractions: in a story soon to published in fanfiction(dot)net

I am working in six new proyects... still in a very raw idea-planning, brainstorming kind of stage, but if you are curious to find out, go to my profile and tell me which one sounds the more interesting to you and I will get my butt working on it.

Ok...mmmmmm....thanks again... you guys are extremely incredible and I owe you a lot, for reading this crazy story. Really, thanks a mill, I hope I don't disapoint you with the rest that will soon be up!

See ya!


	20. Chapter 20

I can give you all a million of different excuses... truth is that I can't. Between the whole babysitting, college (my last semester and I'll graduate as a MK specialist), crazy family, crazy friends and the weirdest block in life and writing a new story (twific, if you are interested), I haven't had much time to think about Serena and Darien. Plus, I bought Paramore's DVD, The Final Riot! and my six month niece and I watched and it was awesome (I'm totally making my niece a Paramore addict). Now, I have a pretty good idea were I want to take this story to and let me tell you that it's a long ride, so if you were expecting the "Happy Ending" in a couple of caps, sorry. It ain't gonna happen for a while. I'm loving the drama, I'm loving writing all this "ridiculous" situations, as someone might have pointed out and I love to write, so I'm going to stay truth to me and just like Ellen said in Idol, "I'm going to have fun with it".

Please enjoy, I really like this one!

* * *

Chapter 20

When Sammy met Annaleigh

Sammy Tsukino loved a lot of things; one of those things was Saturday morning breakfast. His mother spent a lot of time and energy in those meals, since the entire family was together. Ikuko would make from scratch Belgium waffles with white chocolate syrup, and serve with those tasty waffles, delicious sourly strawberries.

Sammy had been looking forward to this morning. Not only did he wanted a couple of plates of the delicious waffles, only his mother knew how to make, but he needed to talk with his twin sister. What a surprise he had when he went down stairs at 10 am and found his mother and father alone in the kitchen. Serena usually beat him on Saturday's to breakfast only because she longed for the waffles more than he did.

"Is Serena still in bed?" Sammy asked Ikuko after giving her a kiss on her cheek and stealing a strawberry from the bowl on the kitchen counter.

"She went out already," Ikuko said taking a waffle out from the waffle iron.

"She missed waffle day?!" Sammy asked in shock. Serena had never, ever, missed waffle day before. "Were did she go?" Sammy asked still in utter shock.

"She said that she needed to go to Annaleigh's, but that was like an hour ago. Well… I hope she'll be home soon" Ikuko said after pouring batter into the waffle iron and closing it again.

"To Annaleigh's? Why?" Sammy said angrily. Ikuko turned to see her son.

"Is something wrong, sweetie? Something happened with Annaleigh?" Ikuko asked and Ken, who was reading the paper at the kitchen table, closed the paper and put it down so he could watch more closely to the conversation that his wife and son were having.

"Mom, you know who I feel about Annaleigh. She is a mean, mean girl. Serena shouldn't be hanging out with her in the first place," Sammy said.

"Sammy do not say that. Annaleigh is a very nice girl. She cares a lot for your sister," Ikuko said.

"She does not!" Sammy insisted to his mother.

"Sammy…what happened? Did Annaleigh do something to her?" Ikuko asked in a concerned voice. But Sammy didn't answer; he didn't know what he could possibly say to his mother. Should he tell her about what had happened at the party? That could get Serena into trouble…that wasn't the brotherly thing to do.

"I just can't stand her, that's all" he settled for saying that and mumbled a bit under his breath, he then sat beside his father and started pouring some orange and carrot juice into a glass. Ikuko and Ken exchanged a look of knowledge.

"Aren't you a little biased by that comment?" Ikuko questioned.

"I'm not being biased; I'm the only one who sees her by who she really is." Sammy said between his teeth.

Ikuko rolled her eyes at her son's comment as she took the empty plate in front of Sammy and changed it for one full of waffles. The intoxicating smell of the white chocolate syrup changed Sammy's face immediately once he had a good whiff at them.

The truth in fact was that Sammy used to be one of Annaleigh's hugest fans. It was once during Sammy's and Serena's first week in the Academy that he found himself late for his elective cultural class. He was on his way to Music because, of course, he wanted to share the class with the girl he had a huge crush on: Elena García. He was rushing throw auditoriums but didn't seem to find his way to the Music Rehearsal Room. He gave a wrong turn in one of the halls when he found her talking on her cell phone, she was crying.

"Mom, please listen" he heard her say. "No mom... because… mom just listen to me… no mom, this isn't about me… Mom, I'm just telling you that she misses you…actually yes I do wish you to be one of those moms that sacrifice her career for her family… At least come to her ballet recital, she wants you and dad to be there, she is so much better since she finish treatment six months ago and… I can't believe you… Well I hope you are happy… You know what mom I'm not even going to discuss the contest because I already sent in the application and if I get a call I am going… Oh my God… you know what? If I really wanted you to be disappointed and I wanted to drive you crazy I would start a blog and tell everybody your real age… Well nice to talk to you too!" Annaleigh yelled at her pink Swarovski crystal incrusted phone before she closed it.

She turned around and saw him. She looked startled once she had a good look at him, more embarrassed than anything else.

"I'm sorry, thought no one was listening" Annaleigh said to him and at that time the first bell rang.

"I'm sorry" Sammy told her.

"Don't be. I'm Annaleigh by the way" Annaleigh said offering her hand to greet.

Sammy opened his mouth. "You're Annaleigh Roberts? The Annaleigh Roberts?"

"Is there more than one?" Annaleigh asked raising one eyebrow.

"No… I don't think so" Sammy said not believing his eyes, he was seeing the one and only Annaleigh Roberts. He had had only once the opportunity to see her perform, but the day he did, he was amazed by her talent. She was the lead in "The Beauty and the Beast" and she sang like an angel… perhaps not as good as his Elena, but an angel nonetheless.

She was as close a celebrity his little town of 10th City had ever had. She not only came from a wealthy family and had an already famous mother, but Annaleigh was and would always be 10th City's brightest star.

"I saw you last year on Christmas day. You were wonderful. I have never seen such a great performance…" Sammy started saying.

"You're taking 'bout Beauty and the Beast? Yeah I got my first good review that time. It said that they saw a great future ahead of me" Annaleigh said.

"You definitely have one coming for you" Sammy said eagerly.

"Well thanks…ummm…I think I didn't catch your name"

"Oh…I'm Sammy, Sammy Tsukino" Sammy said and this little fact caught Annaleigh's attention.

"Tsukino, huh? Are you by any chance related to Serena Tsukino, she is…"

"Long blonde hair, petite and kind of annoying?"

"Yep, that's the one… well I don't know about the annoying part but she is blonde and petite…really long hair, cool hair style too"

"Yeah… those are meatballs; at least we call them that; she is my twin"

"Your twin? Really?"

"Yeah…at least that's what our parents told us…I still think she is adopted"

"Ohhh, you are bad" Annaleigh teased him. "Well, I think I better get going to class, my Drama teachers hate when people are late"

"Yeah, I would love to get to class but I can't seem to find the Music Auditorium"

"Oh, well, come with me, school's Theater it's just next to the Music Auditorium" Annaleigh said as she started to walk through the empty hallway that lead to the Theater and the school's Music Room.

"Thanks Annaleigh" Sammy said, catching up to her.

"Well, you are welcomed"

They turned the corner and she signaled him the correct room. There were still some kids outside the class and one of them was Elena García.

"Thanks again, I just saw my friend Elena outside" Sammy said to Annaleigh.

"She's your girlfriend?"Annaleigh asked him and Sammy turned completely red by the comment.

"No… no of, of, of course not. She is just a girl… who happens to be my friend" Sammy said.

"Oh, that's too bad, she is really cute. You two would make a very cute couple" Annaleigh said and Sammy tried to say something back but couldn't…because all of his stuttering.

"Bye Sammy, seeya later" Annaleigh said as she waved good bye.

As Annaleigh walked away, Elena walked towards him. She touched his shoulders and he jumped away as he was startled by that.

"Hey it's just me" Elena said to Sammy.

"God, Elle! Don't do that" Sammy said moving one hand to feel his heart…it was still in place.

"Why? Did I scared you chicken…"

"Don't; don't finish that sentence…please"

"Fine, let's go Sammy, Mr. Gold is here" and Elena took his hand and pulled him to go to class. "Who was that, by the way?" Elena asked him getting inside the auditorium.

"Who?"

"The girl that was talking to you"

"Oh, yeah… that was Annaleigh Roberts, can you believe it?"

"'Cállate' Really? That was her?"

"Yeah, and she was like the nicest person ever"

"Oh my God! She seemed really pretty too"

"Yeah, that's right, she looked very pretty" Sammy said

"Well, she wasn't that pretty!" Elena hissed at him and hit his left side.

"Elle, come on… I didn't mean it like that" Sammy said following her to their seats.

That was the day he met her. And I have to admit, Annaleigh does give you a very good first impression. She is nice and sweet, very clever, and has just a lovely personality that…it simply makes it hard for one to hate…that is, of course, before you realized what she is capable of doing to have her way.

It happened four months later. During that time, Sammy was preparing for a big tennis competition from which he was invited to participate in Argentina. He had been practicing for a month since the announcement was made. He was really eager with the invitation, like you wouldn't believe. He would not only have the opportunity to play the junior tournament but he was invited amongst other top ranking junior players to watch Juan Martin Del Potro play (cool, right?).

Normally, for a tournament, he would practice non-stop from 3:00pm to 7:00 pm, every single day. One particular Friday, a week before the day he had to fly to Argentina, when he was walking to the tennis court to practice he found the court completely packed with people. They were moving chairs around, moving in flower arrangements, pieces of red fabric to make up a tent look-a-like thing. There were men at one side of the court who were building a little stage and when he saw other people bringing in a podium, he reacted.

He came quickly to stop people from what they were doing but they simply ignored him.

"Guys, you can't be here!" he said a couple of times, but no one was listening. Sammy finally came to the almost finished stage and grabbed the amp that was laying there and called for everyone's attention.

"Guys!-Hi, I hate to bust your chops like this but this court has been reserved since, like, a month ago and… you can't be here" Sammy said, and he started to feel self conscious; since, he was standing in front of everyone, holding his racket and backpack, well, he felt like a perfect fool. Everybody was looking at him as if he was a freak and then people looked at each other and started to move things outside the court.

Sammy moved to the court's entrance and watched as people moved things from the inside to the outside. Five minutes went by and Annaleigh appeared.

"Sammy, what's going on? Why are the guys moving everything out?"

"Oh, hi Annaleigh. Did you ask them to arrange the tennis courtyard?"

"Yes, I need the court this weekend. We are having an art exposition… and an assembly with some very important people" Annaleigh said, each word lower than the one before until she practically ran out of voice and was left with her opened mouth looking at the scene in front of her… one that wasn't going as she planned. She then quickly recovered and looked at Sammy. "What is going on here?"

"I asked them to leave, I have the court until next week" Sammy said to her rearranging his position to lean to the wall of the court's entrance.

"What? No… no way. I have an understanding with Couch Brady. He said that I could use the court any time I needed to"

"Well…I'm sorry. You can't this week. I have the mother of all my games next week and I need the practice. Sorry, really, Annaleigh. Why did you need at all the court? I thought there were already rooms for that kind of stuff"

"I sketched the stage that I wanted for this thing like two months ago, I need the outside vibe so that the fabric can give a nice touch to the flowers arrangements" Annaleigh said as she stopped with her hand to men that were taking chairs out. "No, no, no, no, listen guys you need to put this back" she said signaling the court and she waved them so that everything would be put back inside.

"Annaleigh, I'm sorry, but I can't give you the court"

"Well, I'm sorry but I won't give it back until Monday"

"Monday?! No, I'm sorry" he said shaking his head "I won't give you the court"

Annaleigh smiled at him. "You are sure about that?" she asked him with that kind of bitchy voice of hers that it's kind of low and definitely has an agenda behind it.

"Guys, let's take five" she said to the people moving things… inside and outside. "Come take a walk with me Sammy" she said

"Are we going to talk with Brady?" Sammy asked

"Sure" she simply said and took out her phone and send out a message.

"Where are we going?" Sammy asked to her once they reached the Music Auditorium

"Something I have to do before we talk to Brady" Annaleigh said opening the door.

Inside the auditorium Elena was singing.

(Song by Belinda "Be free", it's really cute. you should listen to it)

What happen to me?  
I'm just a girl  
Only a girl wanting to be someone  
And if I try ohhhh  
And if I dream ohh  
And if I see my heart inside of me

"Annaleigh, what are we doing here? This is supposed to be a closed rehearsal" Sammy said to Annaleigh.

"It's never closed for me and shush, keep quiet, otherwise they are going to throw us out" Annaleigh whispered and signaled with her index finger to shut it.

Let's go flying together  
Let's go fly like a bird...yeah...yeah...yeah...  
Let's go skating the sky  
To hear my voice and your cry...

"Elena is so talented. Did you know that she asked me once if I could do her a favor and accept her in the social activities committee?" Annaleigh said.

"No, I didn't" Sammy answered.

"She told me that she wanted to get in, because she knew the kind of honor and influence that, that position had" Annaleigh said not losing sight of Elena singing.

"You told her no, of course" Sammy said throw his teeth, feeling tension all over his body. That explained why a couple of months ago Elena seemed bumped down all of the sudden.

"Well, like she said, it is a position very precious. I couldn't just give it to anyone, Sammy" She said looking at him. "Rei Hino had more experience organizing social venues in her previous school, and normally we just accept one first year in the committee. I proposed to her that if she helped us organize some things for this activity then I would put a good word for her and select her next fall"

"She helped you this time?" Sammy asked

I just want to be free in this world  
I hope that everybody understands  
I just want to be free and fly away  
And smell all the flowers in my heart  
I want to feel the love in me  
I want to go...go...go...go away

"Of course she did. Did you know her mom is an artist?"

"Yes, she paints" Sammy answered coldly.

"It's really a pity that you two don't talk as often"

"We talk all the time"

"Yeah, I'm sure. You like her, don't you?"

"That's none of your business"

"Oh, but it is" Annaleigh said showing him a smile.

I'm feeling real love  
Only for you,  
You opened my eyes and I saw the world  
It's time to live...oohhhh...  
You can be mine...oohhh...  
and we can journey to paradise...

Let's go flying together.  
Let's go fly like a bird...yeah...yeah...yeah...

I just want to be free in this world  
I hope that everybody understands  
I just want to be free and fly away  
And smell all the flowers in my heart  
I want to feel the love in me  
I want to go...go...go...go away

If I had a wing to fly  
If I had a tear to cry  
I would give my soul  
to the angels of the sky

I just want to be free in this world  
I hope that everybody understands  
I just want to be free and fly away  
I hope that everybody understands  
I just want to be free and fly away  
And smell all the flowers in my heart  
I want to feel the love in me  
I want to see the liberty  
to share the feelings in my heart  
Uuuhh...uuuhh...what happen to me?...oohhh...

What happen to me?...

Annaleigh started clapping and the people who were in the auditorium looked up and saw her.

"Well done Elena, you sounded amazing" Annaleigh said loudly so that everyone could hear her.

"Thanks Annaleigh!" Elena said through the mic.

"Miss. Roberts, what do we owe this pleasure?" Mr. Peyton, the choir director asked.

"Can I steal you superstar for one second, Mr. Peyton?" Annaleigh said, still in the top of the auditorium.

"I'm counting, Roberts" Mr. Peyton said and signaled with his head to Elena that she was free to go.

Elena ran from the stage to the steps of the auditorium all the way to the top were Sammy and Annaleigh were waiting for her.

"Ohhhhh….God….shouldn't have done that" she said out of breath once she reached them.

"Are you ok?" Sammy asked moving to help her lean into him.

"Yeah…it's just not such a great idea to run" Elena said and exhaled deeply.

"Here" Sammy offered Elena a bottle of an energy drink that he had in his sports bag.

"So, what brings you here?" Elena asked taking a big gulp of the fruity flavor energy drink.

"I wanted to tell you something in person" Annaleigh said

"What is it? Am I in trouble? Oh my God, is Sammy in trouble?" Elena asked

"No one is in trouble. But we may have to reschedule the art opening" Annaleigh said

"What? Why?" Elena asked

"We are having some issues with the location" Annaleigh said

"Annaleigh, I hate to be a baby about this, but my mom was counting so much on this opening" Elena said

"I know, Elena, I'm so sorry" Annaleigh said.

"But everything was going to be so great" Elena said

"I'll ask around if I we can use foyer, I'll bet if we arrange the fabrics we can make it look like the tent we wanted to create" Annaleigh said

"Yeah, but what about the acoustics? Where are we going to fit the music players?" Elena asked, water started to gather in her green eyes. She really was looking forward to the art exhibit… her mom as well.

"I'll do everything in my power, Elena, I promise" Annaleigh said and she patted Elena's back soothingly. "I'll be back in five minutes, ok?" and Annaleigh gave a look at Sammy, who exchanged it with her.

"Elle, why didn't you tell me that you wanted to be in the social activities committee?" Sammy asked her.

"Because you would have thought that I was shallow… but I'm not, I'm not doing it because I only want to organize parties. They do a lot. They are working with the Outreach Program, Sammy" he didn't answer.

"The students in committees get scholarships, Sammy. My parents are having money problems. Mom won't talk about it, but I heard her and dad… it's not horrible…yet…I blame the recession" Elena said and let out a sob. Sammy came to hug her and then separate from her to let her breathe. "And mom hasn't sold anything in a year… the art exhibit was supposed to help her get a reference to be part of an art festival in New York." Elena said and let out another sob. "Annaleigh has been so great with everything"

"You told Annaleigh all of this, but not me?" Sammy asked with hurt tinted in his tone.

"Annaleigh is my student counselor, she has been so gracious and helpful… she even let me help her with the sketch for the event. She said this is exactly the experience I need to be part of the committee next year. And she said that she was going to talk with her mother who lives during the week in New York, if she knew some art distributor..." Elena leaned into Sammy and put her head on his shoulder; he lifted his left arm and put it around her waist. They remained quiet for a few minutes until Elena pop her head out of Sammy's shoulder and said, "Wait, Sammy, I think you can help!"

"How? I'll do anything" Sammy said

"You are part of the tennis team, why don't you talk to Brady and convince him to lend us the court?"

"Which court?" Sammy asked feeling a bit sick in his stomach.

"The tennis court, silly" Elena answered.

"You mean to say, that this show is supposed to be in the tennis court"

"Yeah, and I helped planned it, Sammy. You have to come; it's going to be so beautiful. We wanted to create something out of the Arabian Nights and the committee bought this fabrics with the school colors and… you'll have to come and see" Elena kept going on and on about the fabrics, and the paintings her mom had made especially for the event and Sammy just kept completely mute. I mean, I don't blame him…what could he possibly say "Hey Elena, sorry but I'm selfish and don't want to lend you my court. Say hi to your mom for me please"… no, he was a gentleman. And Annaleigh knew that…that's why he moved away from Elena and said he'll be right back.

It took Sammy probably just five seconds to come out the Auditorium and find Annaleigh looking at the gardens outside the hallway.

"How could you?" Sammy asked her turning her around to see him.

"I'm sorry; as far as I'm concern you are the bad guy here. I was just showing you the consequences of not letting me get my way" Annaleigh said with a smile. "But isn't this great, now everyone wins, right? Elena will get to perform tomorrow, her mom will start showing pieces again and you get to play the brave hero, and more importantly I get to use the court and you don't"

"Have you always been like this?" Sammy asked

"Like what?" Annaleigh asked, playing dumb.

"Like a total bitch"

"Oh yeah, my favorite pastime"

"You could have been more sensitive in the matter; her family is going through some stuff…"

"And she won't even have the guts to spill the beans to you, her best friend. Yeah, I know, I'm her counselor, remember? She tells me stuff and she tells you nothing, remember?"

"Go to hell!" Sammy said to her

"Gladly" and Sammy started moving to the music auditorium again. "Wait!" and Sammy turned around. "Sammy, say hi to your sister for me, would you?"

Sammy approached Annaleigh and hissed, "You listen to me, stay away from my sister" Annaleigh thought about it and moved her mouth one way and another, annoying Sammy a lot.

"Yeah, can't do, sorry. I'm her counselor too"

"What?!!!" Sammy asked

"Let me guess, she doesn't tell you anything either…yeah that's love" Annaleigh said "Not to worry, she tells me everything. For example I know that pink is her favorite color, she doesn't like carrots and oh yeah, I almost forgot, I still know what she did three summers ago" Annaleigh said and Sammy froze in place.

"You know about the accident?" Sammy asked

"Yep, she told me all about it"

"You wouldn't tell"

"I won't, but please remember that I can and if you ever, ever make my plans impossible in some sort way or another, so help me God, I will do everything in my power to make your life a living hell" Annaleigh said, in a very upbeat voice, which kind of made it all the more creepier.

Sammy didn't know what to say for a while until he found his voice again "Stay away from her, I don't want my sister to become whatever it is that you are"

"You mean a manipulative person? Funny that you think that Serena isn't manipulative at all"

"She isn't like you"

"Yeah, you may be right about that. I make people fill miserable and have my way with everything. She just made her closest friends promise they would stop talking to one of their friends… in need. You are completely right, she is nothing like me. Bye Sammy, take care of Elena" Annaleigh said and left his side. Sammy said something not gentlemanlike and she simply raised her right hand in a dismissive matter and kept walking away.

What do you think? Was he right? Was she right? I really don't know, too close to tell, but what I can tell you all is that Sammy never stopped hating Annaleigh after that afternoon and a lot more when she refused to give him back his courtyard not Monday, but until the next Thursday afternoon (you know, what's the point?—btw, never do something to anger Annaleigh, otherwise she won't give you your tennis court back).

Sammy tried to warn his sister every time he could about Annaleigh, but Serena never listened to him. For her, Annaleigh was still the nicest girl in the world, one she owed a lot to since she had been so courteous to keep her darkest secret.

Waffles came and went that morning and before Sammy knew it, breakfast was over. He went back to his room, had a shower, got dressed and then started his homework. By one o'clock, Elena arrived at the Tsukino's and went to Sammy's room so they could "study" and "work" on their Science project. Two o'clock came and went, just like three, four, five, six, seven, Elena went back home and still no call, no text, no sign or smock signal of Serena.

Then, there was a knock on Sammy's door.

"Come in" he said from his bed, he had his stereo on and was listening to his Fall Out Boy CD and reading "The Da Vinci Code" for the fifth time.

Ikuko came in. She was very, very, very worried for her daughter. "Sammy, still nothing?"

"Sorry mom. I texted everyone, no one has seen her"

"Who exactly did you text?"

"Well, the girls: Rei, Lita, Amy, Mina, Molly and Lizzie"

"Did you text the guys as well? Ask Andrew, maybe she went by The Crown today"

"Ok, I will" Sammy said and right then they heard a loud noise come from Serena's room.

"What was that?" Ikuko asked startled.

"I don't know, I think it came from Serena's room" Sammy said and then both of them exited Sammy's room and crossed the hallway and opened Serena's door.

"Now, you have to be kidding me!" Ikuko exclaimed angrily.

"Mom!" Serena said from the floor on her balcony. She was soaked from head to toe, including her bubblegum pink bunny slippers, and because of that she tripped with the veranda rail and consequently ended up face down on the floor.

"Serena Louise Tsukino, you are in so much trouble missy" Ikuko said walking to her daughter to help her get up from the floor.

"I know I'm sorry mom" Serena said quietly.

"Where the hell were you?" Ikuko asked "I've been worried sick about you. Don't ever do this to me. Do you understand that?"

"Yes" Serena answered moving to her dresser and taking out a pajama.

"And why the hell are so soaking wet?"

"I fell into the park's lake! Happy now?" Serena answered feeling ambushed and frustrated.

"Don't you talk to me like that. Where were you? Serena, I'm serious"

"I was at Annaleigh's, mom"

"Don't lie to me"

"I'm not"

"Serena… please" Ikuko said in a much calmer voice. "Annaleigh called at noon asking if you had arrived yet, she needed to talk to you about some details about the fund raiser tomorrow at school. When were you going to tell me that you are head of the Outreach Program?"

"I actually found out today" Serena said

"Where were you today?"

"I was at the park, I'm sorry; I left my cell phone here"

"Serena, who was with you all day?"

"Mom… I'm sorry but that's private"

"Oh, it's private now, is it?"

"Mom, at least let me change into something else, I'm wet and it's freezing outside"

"Fine, but we are not done talking and you are grounded" Ikuko said turning around.

"Mom, you can't ground me, I have to be in school tomorrow"

"Then call someone else and tell them to cover for you because you are not leaving this house in a week. You will only be able to leave for school and back home. You will not go to your friend's houses, The Crown, the movie theater, the park or anywhere in between, just school and home."

"Fine, I get it, I'm grounded"

"No, you don't understand, Serena. I have never, ever grounded you before. Not when you had problems with math or something else. Why? Because you were a good kid. This" Ikuko said pointing to her daughter "I don't get it. I don't get the attitude, I don't get why you didn't even care about calling home, report your non-abduction. I was worried!"

"I said I'm sorry!" Serena said letting tears fall from her eyes.

"Well, 'I'm sorry' it's not going to cut it this time. Who was with you?" but Serena didn't answer. "Serena, tell me" Ikuko said.

After thinking a bit she finally said, "I was with Seiya" Sammy exhaled and shook his head, the words, "Why does she keep lying" left his mouth.

"You were with Seiya?" Ikuko asked

"Yes" Serena answered

"All day?"

"Yeah"

"Fine, Serena you are grounded, indefinitely"

"What? Why?"

"Seiya called. He wanted to see how you were after what happened at the party. Serena, what happened at the party?"

Serena didn't know what to say. "I have all night" Ikuko said.

"It was nothing" Serena said.

"Serena, tell mom the truth!" Sammy said back

"Get out of my room!"

"Serena, that's enough, tell me what happened last night" Ikuko demanded

"Fine, I was dancing and Dominic kissed me and this demonic cheerleader went crazy and she gave a speech and she started telling everyone these stupid lies and she showered me with a glass filled with red paint. Amy started yelling and she and the cheerleader started kind of a cat fight and then I might have said something to Annaleigh…and then I left the party and I came here and then I woke up and had an email from her and then I went to ask her what was that all about" Serena said.

Ikuko crossed her arms around her chest and kept quiet. "Are you kidding me?" she finally said.

"Actually that was almost accurate" Sammy said

"Get out of my room, chicken little" Serena said

"Make me, meatball head" Sammy said

"That's enough of the both of you. I have thirty four years, I don't have toddlers anymore, and I have teenagers, rule abiding teenagers, ones that want to be treated like adults. Now Samuel, if you ever want to see your girlfriend again you will apologize to your sister and you, Serena, the little four pound monster that came out of me fourteen years ago, you are forbidden of ever using that balcony again and you and I will talk tomorrow because right now, you just gave me the strongest migraine in the history of the world and remember, you will not leave this house until the day you die!" Ikuko said and left the room, leaving Sammy behind.

"You were with Darien, right?" Sammy said as soon as his mom left the room

"What?" Serena asked completely shocked (how could he have known?)

"You are wearing his jacket" Sammy pointed out (uuhhh, yeah, that's right!)

"Get out of my room right now!" Serena said and shoved her brother out of her room within a second. She closed her door and locked it down. She then turned on her stereo and turned up the volume in "really loud" and then put her pajamas back in her drawer. She took out instead a new pair of underwear (the Pink collection of Victoria's Secret kind). Then she moved to her closet and took out her black wool mini dress, her black leggings, pink leg warmers and silver Converse shoes. Once she was ready (hair and make-up included) she put her black winter coat, mittens and winter hat on. She stepped out into her balcony and called for the one guy that was waiting for her in the dark.

"Ok, I'm ready" she said

"Are you going to fall again?" he asked from the bottom of the apple tree.

"No…not wearing 'slippery when wet' shoes that I know of"

"That's too bad, I don't think I have ever laughed that hard in my entire life"

"Glad that I can help" she said landing on the top of the wooden step staircase. Once she was almost in the ground, he extended his arms and made sure, that she had a safe landing.

"Hi there!" he said with his breathtaking smirk, once he turned her easily (quite the change from her previous staircase helper)

"I really hope you are happy, I'm grounded" Serena said with a hint of a smile.

"Were you grounded this morning?"

"No…"

"Then, I'm sorry… you are a virgin at this, aren't you?" Serena turned red when he heard him say that and felt his arm moved wickedly slow from her upper back to her lower. She turned even redder when he moved his head and whispered at her ear, "I meant you were a virgin at being a bad girl"

"Well then, not a virgin anymore, am I?" she said back and she felt him smile.

He offered her his hand and they walked outside his former home and nearby the vehicle that was supposed to transport them from 10th City to New York City, his bike…motorcycle a mean.

He offered her the helmet and he helped her with his right hand to get in the bike.

"Hold on tight, Bunny" he said

"I hope you know what you are doing, otherwise my mom will kick me out of my house"

"And we can't have that, can we?" he said kicking his bike alive.

"No…because what would you do with me then?" Serena asked quietly, not intending for Darien to hear, but he did.

"Not give you back" he said, not intending for her to hear, but she did. There was kind of an uncomfortable silence after that so he felt obligated to fill it. "You are way too funny"

"Thanks, I really appreciate it; I'll be here all night"

"Don't worry, I promise you that we will be back first thing in the morning"

"We better, Darien"

"Don't worry buns, we will" and with that they took off to the city of New York, to the island of Manhattan. Want to know why? Stay tuned.

* * *

So, I need to ask you to help me with a little project. I'm doing this blog and I have this segment were I give my comments about the chapters of "Haven't you had enough", plus I give some of my thoughts of some days. It's a funny blog, it's very me and I invite you all to read it.

Plus, shame on all of you, you aren't following me on Twitter or friend me on Facebook. I need serious help in a new project in which I hope all of my readers help me with. I want to create Serena's SAD Collection Playlist. **So, I want you to help me and give me suggestions of the saddest songs you have ever heard. Leave it on your reviews or PM me, I don't care, but please help me. The final Playlist will be posted April the first on my blog.**

_Finally, yesterday evening an earthwake struck Costa Rica. It wasn't anywhere as horrible as in Haiti and Chile, but it got me thinking. Have I done enough to help my brothers and sisters? I'm gonna buy "We are the world" English and Spanish version. If you don't dig the song it's fine, but I'm asking for all of you to do something to help. My gym is having a food raiser so I will go shopping tomorrow for stuff that I can give away like dippers, milk, rice, beans and canned foods; please do to (wow, I just sounded like someone in a telethon... but aside from the corniness, please do what you can to help)_

**PS. salimormoon489, you rule! thanx for the beta girl!**

and to answer another reader... it's a serenaxdarien story, which means if they will suffer until the last word to be together in the very last end (I'm mean and bitter, sorry, that's how I roll...but I should tell you all now that I'm thinking about a sequel...dig the idea? anyone?)

Last thing, swear, look up the list of possible stories I'm working on and tell me which one you will like to read next and Twilight fans out there, chech out "The Cardboard-Cutout" it will be a very funny ride.


	21. Chapter 21

Hi! this one is done and done.

SAD collection is done as well! The link for my blog is on my profile, and thanks again for all of you who helped with my song selections. Go check out the list to see if your favorite sad song made the cut.

In additon to the news part of this chapter I'm glad to announce that I (drum roll please) have a job!!!!!!!

What does it mean? Well, thanks for asking, it means that I'm taking two courses in college (finance related, in which I'm not very gifted) and my tesis for my graduation...it's a lot and now I have an 8 to 6 job...which means that all of this is more that what I'm used to handle. In fact, my Twilight fic is the one suffering at the moment, but I'll hope to manage to keep going with this story, cause I'm in love with it.

You are still welcome to follow me on Twitter and Blogger and to become my friend on Facebook.

Please enjoy this chapter, and review!

* * *

Chapter 21

Beginning of a friendship

Darien and Serena walked around the park and went nearer to the lake; they weren't talking, just walking, and enjoying the uncommonly cold day in February.

"So, what do you want to do?" Darien asked all of the sudden.

"I don't know…maybe we could stay here for a while. I was wondering if we could feed the ducks or something" Serena said

"Ok, cool. I'll be right back. Wait for me here" Darien said and took off on a sprint to a little gazebo were they sold all kinds of food. Darien came back soon carrying two loafs of bread.

"Here, take this one" he said to Serena, giving her one of the loafs.

"Thanks" she said taking it the loaf into her hands.

They both opened the plastic bag that wrapped their loafs and started to make the bread into crumbles.

They threw the crumbles to the ducks that were starting to gather at their feet.

"What are you thinking about?" Darien asked Serena.

"About yesterday" she answered

"Nice day yesterday" he said sarcastically.

"A day for the books. No, actually I was thinking about how much I envy these ducks" Serena said.

"Why?" he asked

"I'm starving, I left home without having breakfast"

"Well, thank God, then"

"Why?"

"Have you looked at yourself? You look like someone who just escaped from a mental institution" he said pointing at her appearance.

"Oh, come on. I don't look like you" she said giving him a smile.

"Good one, but at least I took a shower today" Darien said, but once he said that Serena lost her smile.

"Did I say something wrong?" Darien asked

"You spent the night at Annaleigh's, right? That's why your jacket was there" Serena said in a monotone.

"Is there a problem with that?" Darien asked

"Well…no I guess, she is your girlfriend…I just don't get why she lied to me. She said you gave her your jacket last night" Darien frowned his eyebrows and thought the same as Serena. 'Why did she lie? To spare Serena's feelings?' That was the most plausible answer, and by the look of Serena's puppy dog face, it was. So he decided to play along.

"I didn't spend the night" he said

"But…you just said"

"No, I just asked you, if there was a problem with me spending the night at my girlfriend's, but I didn't" that actually lifted Serena's spirit a bit. Darien smiled at her and she blushed and looked away.

"I wouldn't have had a problem" Serena said throwing another piece of bread to the ducks that were now fighting for a particular big one on the ground.

"A problem with what?" Darien asked

"You two having sex" Serena said and Darien turned to look at her.

"Did you just say sex?" Darien asked with a bit of a 'Not believing you just said that' look.

"It's not a bad word; and actually I think I saw something on Dr. Phil that having sex is actually good for you. Hey! Stop looking me like that! I'm not saying anything bad!"

"I hate to disagree, but I think it's actually forbidden for someone underage to talk about sex"

"That's not true, at least not on this state" Serena said and stuck out her tongue to him. "But I'm serious, it's not bad to have sex, I mean, protected, I mean you really should use protection…otherwise…you know"

"I actually have no idea what you are talking about" Darien said

"Oh, come on Darien. Its not a big secret that you an Annaleigh…you know"

"What?"

"You know"

"Noooo, I don't know" (I feel embarrassed for Serena right now)

Serena thought about how she was going to say it and her face turned completely red at the simple thought. "Gone all the way" she said slowly, pausing at each word.

"First of all, no one says 'Gone all the way' since ever, second of all, how come you blush at saying that and not saying sex and third, I don't think it's any of your God damn business"

"Like hell it is my business, you are my friend"

"Yeah, but friends don't talk about that kind of stuff"

"Yes they do"

"Well, I don't"

"You are going to tell me that you have never told Andrew about you and Annaleigh in the hot tub or you and Annaleigh during spring break or you and Annaleigh at her house in The Hamptons or you and Annaleigh at the lodge in Aspen or you and Annaleigh…"

"Fine, I think we all get it and no, Serena, a gentlemen never tells" and that comment shut Serena up. "And where the hell did you hear those rumors?"

"Well…you two have been an item for quite a while…I think people just assumed… you two are very popular after all"

"Did you assume along?"

"No…every time I heard something I tried to rip my ears off" and Darien laughed.

"God, so many rumors…" Darien wondered

"Were any of them true?"

"She is my girlfriend; we do normal girlfriend-boyfriend stuff"

"That's not very detailed"

"As I meant it to be"

"Fine don't tell"

"I'm not going to" and he gave Serena, the moment she turned quickly to see him, his breathtaking smirk. "Why do you want to know so badly? Did Annaleigh ever tell you something?"

"Never" Serena said while shaking her head.

"Because there's nothing to tell" Darien assured.

"So you two never…?" but he never answered, he just said "Moving on" and rolled his eyes and continued to feed the ducks.

Serena gave up and decided that she wasn't going to ask anymore…today. She kept feeding the ducks and at one point didn't realize that her loaf was gone. She emptied the bag so that the ducks could enjoy a few more crumbles and then went to the nearest plastic recycle can and threw the plastic bag there.

As she was turning to come back to Darien, a couple of arms scooped her from the ground leaving her on a bridal position. After that, the owner of the arms started to run, as if he was stealing something extremely valuable.

Serena yelp at Darien's action and moved her arms to his neck so she could hold for dear life.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" she screamed.

"Taking you to breakfast" he said in between intakes of breath.

"Now?!" she exclaimed.

"Yes"

"Where's the fire?!"

"No fire, just that you were out of bread and I feared for the ducks" Darien said and at that Serena managed to pulled one arm from his neck to punch one of his arms.

"Don't hurt the runner" Darien said in one breath

"Well, don't insult the starving" Darien laughed and quicken his step "Slow down, you are going to kill us" Serena yelled.

"Almost there" Darien said. They were now out of the park and sprinting towards Main Street and Baltimore Lane where, just at the corner, an iHOP was located.

They arrived at the restaurant three minutes later, being yelled at by two taxi drivers and a soccer mom who screamed at them: "Devil Children, go to church!". It really wasn't the drivers fault…Darien wasn't paying much attention to the traffic.

Once he put Serena back on her feet, she stumble to the ground, leaving him to help her back on her feet, once again…she may had been just a tad dizzy.

"You okay?" he asked

"Don't ever do that again" she said leaning against his chest. She stood there for a few seconds and moved her head from the side to the front, where she got to smell Darien's shirt. Roses and cherry wood again, just like heaven.

"I promise Meatball head, no more running" she smiled against his shirt.

They had the biggest breakfast ever. Darien ordered the sampler and Serena went with the split decision. Two coffees and two orange juices later, Darien got the check and paid for the huge meal. And then, once the bunny and the heart breaker were fed, they went back on track.

They walked for a bit around town and during several occasions, Darien offered to buy her some shoes, she didn't go for it. She said that food was the only thing she was letting him pay for her today.

They got tired of going around in circles and Serena asked what he normally did on a weekend. He said that normally he went to practice around one in the afternoon, but that wasn't going to happen, "No chance in hell of me showing up" were his exact words if I remember correctly (I'm the narrator…remember?).

She asked about what he normally did off season and he said that he would hang out at The Crown or go to Annaleigh's and do something. Serena turned quiet once she heard him say that.

"It's not what you think, Serena. We would play with Abby; watch a movie with her or something. I remember several times they played dress up with me…and no…no pictures were taken, that, I actually have in writing" Darien added as he saw Serena's evil face lift up the second she heard 'dress up'.

"Well…to bad for the photos; that would have been fun, having something to make fun of you and something to threat you with" Serena said

"Yeah, like, pick me up or I'll show everyone the pictures of you in a tiara, kind of stuff?" Darien said.

"Exactly" Serena assured.

"Yeah, well, nice try but that's not happening in this millennium" Serena laughed.

"I think it's sweet you played with her sister. It's so sad… her story"

"It really is. For Leigh it really has being a true hell. She told me how her mom was at the beginning of her pregnancy with Abby when Amber passed away. She actually thought of terminating the pregnancy, since she began to show signs of depression after the funeral"

"Oh God, that's horrible. What happened?"

"Well, Leigh begged her mom not to do it. She told to her mom that she needed to have faith again and that a baby always brought faith. Leigh's mom said that a baby wasn't going to fix anything and that this wasn't going to be Amber and Leigh said that was precisely why she should keep it, because Amber would have never let her end the pregnancy, Amber would have made her have the courage and the strength"

"Annaleigh is a very gifted person"

"What do you mean?"

"That she is very persuasive"

"I don't really think that"

"You don't?" Serena asked incredulously

"Underneath her confidence there's a very vulnerable girl, that's the girl I fell in love with"

Serena kept quiet for a while. She started thinking about the truth behind Darien's words. Annaleigh was very vulnerable. She had an extraordinary maternal instinct, she practically raised her little sister and she had always, no matter what, from the moment she met her, helped her in some sort of way.

Giving her new tutors each time one decided to give up with her, encouraging her, protecting her from the school rumors and the school mean girls and above all, Annaleigh had always been there to hear her problems. Annaleigh was also undeniably beautiful; actually she was even more beautiful when she let her heart open, when she cried. No wonder why Darien had fallen in love with her, even if she had said the night before: "You two deserve each other" out of hate; she was starting to feel that they really did deserve each other. Annaleigh was perfect in every way imaginable and Darien… does he need any further explanation? I don't think so, but if you are like me and care for a rerun, here is the list (in alphabetical order)

Amazing, brave, charismatic, daring, enchanting, funny, great, heroic, incredible, joyful, kind, manly, nice, pure, smart, tall, unbelievable, valiant, wonderful; I can actually go on, and on…but I think you all get my point.

'Just friends' she reminded herself again 'We are just friends. Don't screw this up'.

"So, Mrs. Roberts decided to keep the baby?" Serena said after a couple of minutes

"Yes… but she… likes keeping her space from her. After Abby was born she went back to work a month later…doesn't spend much time with her. That's why Leigh doesn't have such a great relationship with her"

"What about her dad?"

"Just about the same as her mom. Everything just exploded about two years ago. Annaleigh found out that both her parents were having affairs"

"That's when Abby got sick?"

"No, Abby has been sick since she was three. I remember when we first found out. Leigh and I had just started dating. We were watching a movie in their living room when Abby said she didn't feel okay and she started to have a nose bleed"

"Oh my God! Poor Abby!" Serena interjected

"Yeah…"

"So, you stayed with her. That's very sweet of you, Darien"

"She needed a friend by her side, it was the least I could do after she had been so nice to me when I started in the Academy"

"What do you mean?"

"Well… I wasn't very popular when I first started"

"I find that hard to believe"

"My first day was a nightmare"

"Really?"

"Yeah… I was still in the wheelchair, and I had a cast on one of my arms"

"I thought that your aunt and uncle would have waited for you to get better and then let you come back"

"My therapist said that I was slowing my recovery in an unconscious level… I didn't have trouble with the bunch of multiple intelligence tests they put me throw…but when it came to my physical recovery…I wasn't as successful"

"I'm really sorry" Serena said. She was feeling guilty as hell.

"It's not your fault" Darien said in a failed attempt to lift up her spirit.

"I should have never left you" she said with her face down

"Hey, hey!" Darien exclaimed turning her to look right to his blue eyes. "It's not your fault, Serena. I don't blame you. We were all very young, I think it was for the best"

"That you were left alone?" Serena said with water crystallizing her blue eyes.

"That sucks… but that isn't important right now"

"It's not? Darien, you are telling me that the kids in school treated you wrong because you were in a wheelchair!"

"It's not like that…they all knew who I was. They kept talking behind my back, asking me how I was, asking me if I remembered them. It was a blessing to meet Annaleigh because she didn't know me. She didn't know who I was. She didn't know about my tragic past, she didn't know about me!"

Serena kept quiet after that. Darien shook his head and apologized after blowing up at her.

They continued walking until they reached Darien's apartment building front door.

"Do you want to come up? Maybe watch a movie or something?" Darien offered

"I don't know…What time is it?" Serena asked

"Noon? No wait" he said as he checked his watch. "Two thirty"

"Two thirty? Are you kidding me?"

"Yeah I'm kidding…it's just two twenty nine" Darien said with a smirk which Serena responded with a sarcastic smile, you know, the one that says: you think you are being cute and funny? Well think again; smile.

"I should go home" Serena said moving one of her little bunny covered feet one side to the other. "I haven't called home all day; my mom is probably very worried"

"What's she like? Very strict?" Darien asked

"Not really, she is very young, she just turned thirty four last December. She is very laid down on rules, that's more of my dad's department. You know, no dating, no hanging out with boys"

"Wow, what is he going to do if he ever finds out about you hanging out with me?" Darien teased

"He never had a problem with you…he liked you a lot"

"I'll love to meet them one day…again I guess"

"They'll love that"

"So…no movie, huh?" Darien said as his cell phone rang and he look at the phone's screen to see who was calling. "Shit" he said. "Give me one second" and gestured with his hand for Serena to give him a moment.

"Sure, don't worry" Serena said, but at the same time moving closer to hear the conversation.

He opened his phone and answered "Setsuna, hi! Yeah I was about to call, actually_ No, we are not going to be able to make it…Yeah I'm sorry too… You have it?... Is it good?... Really?... Well, I'm up to try it but it will have to be until she comes back, I don't want to go alone. But you are sure it's the good stuff, right?" Serena made a face at that statement. 'The good stuff?' "I'm sure you tell that to all of your costumers" 'Costumers? Costumers of what?', Serena thought "And what about the tournament?... Is it today? What did the contract said? Well…I can't make any promises but I'll make sure to give it a try. Bye gorgeous!" Darien said he clicked his phone and Serena raised one of her eyebrows. "What?" he asked

"Are you on drugs?" she asked

"Nooooo!" he exclaimed offended.

"Well…by the looks of that conversation is either that or something worse"

"Serena, do you know what happens to a bunny that gets her head into a boiling pan of water?"

"What?" Serena asked, not expecting at all his answer.

"She gets eaten!"

"Not funny!"

"That will teach you not to eavesdrop on someone else's business"

"Who is Setsuna?"

"Urgggg. Jeez, it's like talking to a wall! Setsuna is a friend of Annaleigh's. She is a graphic designer and she owns a gaming store in Broadway Street in New York. Annaleigh has modeled for her a couple of times. She was wondering if we could make it to a show she is having tonight."

"Why would Annaleigh model for her if she is a graphic designer?"

"Well… Annaleigh was the face for her place, plus, Setsuna has fashion shows in her place. So, she usually asks Annaleigh to runway"

"Who's fashion show?"

"One time Setsuna had a Heatherette show for a Guitar Hero Tournament"

"Oh my God! I love Heatherette! They make such fun dresses, they are beautiful!"

"Yeah, well…they are…nice… I guess, I don't really know much about it. Annaleigh likes that kind of stuff. I go to try the video games really, she said she has the Fifa world-cup 2010, that it just arrived yesterday to her store" Darien said scratching his head. "… She is having a Juicy Couture Show tonight"

"No way!"

"Do you want to go?"

"To New York?" Serena asked excited

"Yeah…there's no way in hell I'm going by myself…but with you around, maybe it would be fun to watch how you make a fool out of yourself"

"I won't make a fool of myself!" Serena exclaimed

"So? Are we on for tonight?"

"You bet we are!" Serena said fiercely.

"So, we should go up" Darien said signaling the sky and entering to his apartment lobby.

"Why?"

"Show it's at one"

"Oh…we missed it" Serena said disappointed

"One in the morning Meatball head" Darien said and turned around to see Serena "This is New York we are talking about; sure you are up for it?"

"Bring it on" Serena said getting near him and whispering in his ear. Darien smirked.

He walked to the elevator and pushed the bottom for the doors to open. He bowed at her and gestured for her to get on the elevator. She did…smiling all the way to the elevator.

"My lady" Darien said. A laughing Serena got in and Darien pressed the 22nd button.

"Wait; are your uncle and aunt at your place?"

"Why?"

"Just wondering" Serena said biting off her bottom lip.

"No…I texted Silvia earlier, said that I wasn't up to being moping around all day so that I spent the night at Ann….Andrew's. She said she'll be out doing some shopping" Darien said quickly.

"That reminds me… I'll need for you to lend me your phone, I need to call home and say I'll be out for a little longer"

"Yeah, okay"

They made it to the apartment and Darien turned on the lights of the living room.

"Yeah, it looks like we are alone. Phone is in the kitchen" Darien said, signaling to the open arch that leads to the Shield's kitchen. He walked through another hall and entered a room. Serena's heart pounded hard when she realized the possibility of this room being Darien's room. All of her childhood and preteen years she fantasized of being exactly there, in his room.

She soon forgot all about the phone and stayed in the living room, examining closely the pictures that stood above the side tables in the living room. Silvia and John had obviously taken most pictures from Darien's former home. There he was at the age of eight with his junior soccer trophy, at the age of nine dressed as a pirate for a school play, at the age of ten dressed as a prince for a Blue Bear camp play.

This picture caught her attention, since all of them, Seiya, Taiki, Yaten, Melvin, Molly, Sammy and her were in the picture. Serena smiled as she remembered the day of that play. Darien was her prince, Seiya wasn't very happy about it, but was content with playing her most loyal guard; the one Serena was supposed to end up with.

"You called your mom?" Darien asked as he entered the room. He wasn't wearing a shirt…just his faded blue jeans. Serena's mouth opened as she took in her view, his perfect six pack staring at her, two hands took the picture from her hands and laid it again on the side table. "Earth calling the Meatball head, Meatball head, are you there?" Darien asked. Serena swallowed and shook her head.

"Yeah"

"Ok, what did she say?"

"About what?" Serena asked

"Going to New York?"

"Oh… I haven't called home… I was just looking at these pictures, I have this one too. Do you know the story?" Serena asked pointing at it.

"I don't know anything about this pictures, I can't remember, remember?" Darien said in a teasing tone.

"I thought…Silvia might have"

"She brought that one from my house one day I was still in the hospital. She showed it to me and said that I shouldn't be sad, that I had to be strong for my friends, that they would come to visit as soon as I got better…they never did" Serena stared at him for a while and she started to feel guilty. Guilty because he was totally right, she was responsible for making Darien feel sad and lonely. He had every right to feel angry at her, she had stripped him from friends to encourage him to get better and better not mentioned the guilt she felt for making him and his family escort her to say goodbye to her friends. How do you not feel guilty after that? After the consequences of her actions? Of her affections? How do you not feel guilty? Or angry? Was this the reason Darien wanted to get to know her better? To make her feel guilty? That wasn't right, was it?

"This was a mistake" Serena said and pushed him to the side so she could head for the door,

"Hey, wait! Where do you think you are going?" Darien said catching her arm and trapping her between him and the door.

"The only reason you want to be close to me is to hunt me down with guilt" Serena said angrily with her eyes closed so she couldn't she him

"Look at me" he whispered and she did, she opened her eyes "I'm sorry. I don't want to make you feel guilty. I'm just very frustrated"

"Why?" Serena asked, her words getting caught in her trough

"You are the only connection to my past that I have found. Silvia…she starts crying every time I asked something and John… I don't like to ask him… it was his brother who died in that car crash. From what I've overheard them say, they were very close. It just pains me to no end and frustrates me even worse to look them all sad, hear them talk about people I feel, have no connection to me"

"Why am I different than your uncle or aunt?"

"I'm guessing you knew me better. And I do want to know you, Serena. You are a very nice girl and I do want to be your friend" he said

"Then, you don't want to make me feel bad or guilty?" Serena asked losing her voice as she saw Darien's lips get closer to her face.

"Never" he whispered and kissed her forehead. He touched her forehead with his own and gave her a long hug…God! Such a long hug! "You were very special to me and I want to regain that. I want to regain as much as I possibly can and I want you to help me" He moved away and intertwined his fingers with hers, bringing them to his mouth to place a soft kiss on her hand. Serena was blushing, and Darien said "Please forgive me, Buns"

He took Serena's breath away, so she simply nodded.

"How about lunch?" Darien asked and Serena nodded again. "Good, I think there's pretty much nothing in the kitchen…how about some pizza?" and Serena woke up from the spell Darien put her with his tender kiss. "What toppings do you like?" He asked and went to the couch to fetch the shirt he had laid there and he put it in on.

"Can we get two large pizzas? One half pepperoni, half Hawaiian and the other one half meat lover's and half Brazilian?" Darien blinked twice and said "Nice choice, I'll see what I can do about it"

"Don't forget to order it with extra cheese on the border and with cheesy bread!" Serena said before he reached the kitchen, so he turned and asked what she wanted to drink and she said a diet coke…since she was watching what she ate (of course she was).

The pizza came, this was around three in the afternoon. They were watching the Sports Center, some game in the Champions League. Serena told Darien over and over again that she didn't liked soccer and asked if they could switch for a movie or something else and that she knew that in the CW a marathon of the newest season of Gossip Girl was on. Darien said that no way in hell he was going to watch that, that the performances where very average (please note here the sarcasm, since half the cast is from Gossip Girl…yes I like Gossip Girl and not afraid to say that I owned the first two seasons. Jealous anyone?)

They finished with their pizza and the soccer game finished about fifteen minutes later.

"Sorry about that" Darien said turning off the T.V.

"Don't…it's like having a flashback" Serena said curling in the couch of his living room.

"Did I do that a lot? Watching sports I mean?"

"All the time" Serena said a bit sleepily.

Darien smiled as he watched her falling asleep. "Glad to know some things haven't changed"

"You have always been good at sports" she yawned "…in school, in plays" Serena said opening her eyes and looking at him. She smiled.

"What?" Darien asked

"I was just remembering our camp play, the one of that picture"

"What happened?" Darien asked eager and moved nearer to Serena so he wouldn't miss one word.

"Sure you don't mind?" she said, a bit afraid to unsettle him.

"By all means"

"Fine. It was one of the first trips to the mountain. We made a play at the end of summer. I was casted as Princess Margaritte and you were Prince Eric. You were supposed to be this mean prince that treated everyone badly. Seiya, Yaten and Taiki were my guards and Seiya was meant to protect me" Serena said giggling. "During the scene that Seiya was supposed to kill you I…kind of screwed it up"

"That's new"

"Shut up" Serena said pushing his arm

"What did you do?"

"I went to scene when I wasn't supposed to and started crying by your body and yelling 'please Darien don't die, don't die' everybody started laughing and Seiya said 'Serena, he is not even dead, he is just pretending' and you held my hand to caught my attention and winked at me. When I saw you I threw myself at you and hugged you and gave you a kiss on your cheek" Darien smiled at his lost memory, he thought that it would have been nice to remember as she did.

They spent hours talking about them, about what they loved and hated, about food, about T.V. shows, about movies, about families. Serena found out that Silvia and John couldn't have children, it wasn't impossible but it was very difficult. They were happy taking care of Darien, but apparently something happened during the five years that they have taken Darien in, that she stopped ovulating properly. Darien was extremely sad for her, since she was a wonderful mother; he said that she deserved to have her own children.

On the other hand, Darien found out a lot of Serena as well. She told Darien that she actually had two half sisters from her father's previous marriage. She told Darien that they were about his age and that they have never treated her or Sammy nice. They were named Beatrice and Kate, but her father called them Birdie and Kitty. They lived in New Jersey and thankfully her father had stopped taking Sammy and Serena to go see them along. He also found out that her mother Ikuko, had been a student at Brown where she met her father, Kenji. Her father was an assistant professor in a Literature class and her mother was his student. He was married when they met, but they couldn't deny how much they loved each other.

Kenji split up from his wife of ten years and his two little girls and moved in with his young, promising student. The whole thing apparently had been a big scandal at Brown and it caused for Ikuko to lose her scholarship and Ken to lose his job. That didn't stop them, so they moved in to 10th City to start over. They were welcomed fairly by the community and Ikuko started working at the local school as a kinder garden teacher and Ken started as a junior writer in the local paper. Soon, Ikuko found out that she was pregnant and, since it was twins, she decided to quit her job. Luckily, Ken had been given a promotion and his own column.

For Serena, it was refreshing to hear about Darien's life from him and not from an idiotic rumor. She found out that Silvia used to be an architect in New York and that John was a very fancy lawyer, working for 'Crane, Poole and Schmidt' (does the name rings anyone's bell, if so, please review). They met during a case in which John was defending Silvia; apparently she was the victim of a wrongful termination from her former working place. After the case was done, John asked her out and after just six months they got married.

Serena told him about her fear of thunder, Darien told her about his fear of the dark.

She told him about her favorite flower and he told her about his favorite soccer team.

She told him about how much she would like to learn how to dance and he told her about how much he would like to teach her some day.

They really talked for hours, up until the moment Serena found out that it was almost six and that she needed to get back to her house before her mother killed her, she confessed to Darien that she had forgotten to call home, he rolled his eyes.

He got changed to go to NYC. He put on some black jeans, a white shirt that had some kind of logo on it and his leather jacket. He gave Serena the passenger helmet and they went outside the Shields apartment and into the elevator to go down into basement 2 and fetch his bike. Soon he remembered that he had left it at The Crown and so they walked the mile-long distance between his apartment and his favorite restaurant/game parlor.

They didn't enter the restaurant; they went directly to the parking lot to fetch the bike. As they mounted the bike Darien checked that he had everything he needed for their little trip. Bike, check; wallet, check; phone….

"Shit, I think I left my phone at the park"

"It's nearby, let's go see if we can find it"

"It's nighttime, someone probably took it by now" Darien said, but Serena insisted that he needed to have a little more faith and so he gave up and pleased her.

They looked around the lake, but Darien was right, it was too dark to look. As he was about to tell Serena to just give up, he felt something vibrate in his jacket. He had forgotten that he had put it there and so he took it out and read the three unread messages.

First one from Silvia: "Don't come back too late…take note that my family has a heart condition history, so please don't come back too late…so I won't end up in a hospital for exceeding stress levels" Darien laughed at it and answered a "lol, love you, see you tomorrow"

Second one from Setsuna: "OMG! So u r coming? Promise it will b gr8. Any chance u r bringing a friend? I'm short in models!" Darien answered "Does a size 4 help?"

Then the last one, it was from Annaleigh: "Getting on the plane. I'll miss u" Darien didn't answer; simply put his phone back where it was.

"Serena I found my phone" Darien said and then heard a big splash and a scream from Serena, cursing the freaking cold water.

He ran to help her out and started laughing at her. She was mumbling down some unintelligible stuff but it didn't matter to Darien, he was having too much fun.

After that, they went back to the bike, brought it to life and drove all the way to Serena's place. She told him that if her mom saw her like this she was never going to let her see another day so she told him about her brilliant plan to get in through her balcony door and I think pretty much you all remember pretty well what happened after that.

I won't bore you with much details about the trip and how amazing it felt for Serena to see the famous City Lights for the first time in her life or how awesome was to roll around Broadway Street and finally reach the extraordinary Times Square. But what I can tell you is that they made it to New York by eleven. Setsuna's store was packed with media, gamers, models, V.I.P.'s and regular P's.

Darien brought Serena backstage and introduced her to Setsuna who fell immediately in love with Serena's appearance. Serena immediately fell in love with Setsuna's. She was even prettier that Annaleigh, if that was even possible. She was tall, tanned, with dark green eyes that complemented her dark brown hair. She was one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen.

"So, exited to be a model?" Setsuna asked to Serena who was showing her around

"What?" Serena confusedly

"You are modeling tonight, aren't you?" Setsuna asked again

"Nooooo, I'm not! Darien, tell her I'm not"

"Mmmm, about that…" Darien started

"Oh my God!" Serena exclaimed and hit Darien with her purse several times.

"Don't worry sweetheart, it's going to be okay. It's just runway, anyone can walk" Setsuna encouraged and left Serena and Darien in Hair and Make-up.

"I'm going to kill you" Serena said as she was being scrubbed off of her own makeup and beginning to be painted with thousands of different products. About two hours later, one o'clock in NYC time, Serena was done. Darien had actually enjoyed watching the hair stylists and make-up artists work on her. They were having a great time, eating delicious stuff from craft service, cracking jokes and making predictions about in which outfit or which shoes she was going to fall in.

As the stage manager was beginning to call the models to come and form a line, Darien said his goodbyes and said that he was going to be in the front row with Setsuna in case she fell down and needed for someone to help her out. Serena was left completely terrified and indescribably nervous when the winners of The Beatle's Rock Band Tournament started to play a different, more modern rock version of "Hard Day's Night". Five girls walked the runway and after five different directions that the manager gave her and that she didn't get, a prayer in his behave and one from hers, she was being pushed to go.

She heard clapping from the front row and she recognized Darien and Setsuna there. She smiled and put on her best 'smile with your eyes' look. The cameras where flashing like crazy and she started to strut down the long way. Her nervousness passed as she realized that things could have being far worse. At least she was dressed, unlike other models that weren't wearing nothing but a pair of boy-shorts and a winter coat. At least she was wearing a pair of jeans, a shirt, a blazer and a cute hat. As she was in the middle of her tour she realized that the runway was very unconventional. It was an elevation created that zig-zagged in the middle of the store, filled with glitter and confetti.

She finally made it to the cameras where she posed once, with her hip popped to the left, twice, with her head high and hip to the right, thrice, turned around with her shoulder shrugged to one side and she, looking to the cameras and giving a wink. She couldn't help but to smile all the way back to the backstage. In a rush she was being dragged to the changing room where they put her in a black mini dress and some boots that amazingly were two sizes too small…and she had very small feet. She did the same tour down the whimsical runway. She was in such a rush that she didn't even realize that it was over up until Darien went to find her backstage again. He hugged her and lifted from the ground.

"You did amazing Buns!" He yelled over the music of a much upbeat version of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"

"Thanks! I can't believe I just did that!" she said out of breath.

"Serena!" she heard Setsuna calling her from behind and running to greet her. "You were amazing baby! You and Annaleigh have to come next time I have a tournament"

"I don't think so Setsuna, I already kidnapped her long enough for a whole year" Darien said

"Well…tell me if you ever consider modeling for a career and I'll hook you up with my former agency"

"You were a model?" Serena asked in shocked

"You think Serena could do this for a living?" Darien and got hit on his arm again by Serena.

"She is a natural" Setsuna said with a smile. "Most girls start at sixteen, but I see you definitely on the cover of Seventeen, Teen Vogue… you could have a brilliant career"

"You really think I could?" Serena asked completely eager about the possibility of being good at something like her brother, famous like the Kou's and have a glamour's life like Annaleigh's.

"Setsuna, don't encourage her, she is going to think it's true" Darien said and got hit on both his arms by Serena and Setsuna.

"Yes you can sweetie, give me a call, anytime you want" Setsuna said and then got called to attend at the media that was starting to gather around the press room.

"Oh_my_God!" Serena said and Darien simply caught her hand and moved through the crowd and rolled his eyes.

"Come on buns, I have to get you home" Darien said leaving the crowd and looking for the back door that lead to the basement.

"Darien wait!" she called

"What?"

"I have to get changed!" she said worried

"Fine! But let's hurry up!" Darien said and moved them all over again through the crowd and into the changing rooms. As they were about to go into the changing room someone was opening the door from the inside. All dressed up in his fabulous red suit, the guy could not believe his eyes.

"Serena?" he asked in disbelief

"What are you doing here?" Serena asked as well.

* * *

I am very curious to know what you think about Serena and Darien's family story, did you liked how they are becomming better and better friends, what did you all think of Setsuna? (she will be played by Megan Fox if you were wondering) and most of all I want to know who do you think it is at the door of the changing room.

Place your bets everyone and don't forget to check out the SAD Collection, the ultimate timeless, sad, angst and depressive songs ever...for a teenager.

Special thanks to my special beta, I love you!!!!

BTW, I am going to change the Valentine dresses, I found about a much better way to show you all what's in my head, so don't forget to check that out as well on my profile...what else? Well, just a reminder that the next chapter might take me longer than usual...but hey! I have a job! Kudos to me!

Please review! Bye, Love you all!


	22. Chapter 22

I know, I know... I suck...

Just read and then kill me for making you all wait for so freaking long.

Spoiler Alert: I don't own Sailor Moon... shocking I know.

* * *

Chapter 22

Hearing Damage

"I should be the one asking that" the young man in the red suit said.

"Why?" Serena asked

"I called your house, your mom told me that you were grounded" he said with concern in his eyes. "And with good reason" he added as he moved his eyes to see Darien standing just behind Serena. Darien, in an instinct of protection took both Serena's arms into his hands and started to brush them in a nurturing manner.

"I thought we were clear about this subject" the young man said. "That you were bad for her"

"I guess it's a bad habit of mine not to listen to annoying little kids" Darien said to the young man.

"Serena, you shouldn't be here, you are going to give your mom a heart attack" the red suited man said.

"We were just leaving, Seiya. And for the record it's none of your business who I decided to hang with. Darien, could you wait for me here while I change?" Serena asked.

"Hurry up" Darien said to her urgently.

Serena looked in between Darien and Seiya, bit her bottom lip and enter into the changing room.

Darien then turned to look at Seiya and gave him a knowing smirk.

"Don't tell me that the economy has been so bad lately that your little act as the new Jonas Brothers is going so down lately, that you need to come and try out for The Beatles Rock Band Tournament"

"We are here for the after party, unlike you, I'm a very successful person, and I have an agenda to meet" Seiya said hurt by the comment (yeah…like saying that to Darien is going to make him feel bad about himself)

"Don't let me stop you then, I'll just wait here for Serena, who is going home…with me"

"We'll see about that" Seiya said, walking away from Darien and intentionally bumping him with his shoulder. Darien simply rolled his eyes and swallowed his wishes to turn Seiya into compost. He moved to a chair that was laying near the changing room door, sat and waited.

Twenty minutes later, Serena was once again in her original outfit plus the make-up and the wig. I didn't tell you all about the lilac wig, did I? Well…there was a wig… she used for the runway…apparently it was part of the outfit and Serena was still wearing it when she came out of the changing room. At her immediate sight, Darien stood up from his spot and walked to her.

"You are stilling that?" Darien asked pointing at her wig.

"Yep! And Setsuna is sending my outfits to my house." Serena answered eagerly.

"Isn't your mom going to ask you about those?"

"I'll just tell her that they are from Annaleigh"

"Good thinking" Darien said to her, Serena smiled.

"Yeah, I thought so" Serena said, proud showing on her face.

"Well…we better go" Darien said all of the sudden when he spotted Seiya coming back to them, which could only mean trouble. Darien took Serena's hand and started to make their way to the opposite side of the video store, where a bunch of private security were guarding the doors to the exclusive garage. Darien of course had access to this very exclusive garage, so he had parked his black, BMW F 800 ST there. This top of the art bike was a gift from his uncle and aunt last year so he could drive something else than a car…hoping that bad luck was strictly for cars. Darien had had his eyes on a very cool vintage Harley, but John, being a bike guy himself when he was younger, said that Darien couldn't pull it off. So they bought the bike for his sweet seventeen exclaiming to Darien how proud they both were that he had become such a great young man.

As Darien and Serena approached the middle of the store, Serena felt how she was being pulled back strongly and even harshly by someone. Darien felt the tension too, so he turned to see how Serena was being pulled by her other hand by no other than Seiya.

"Dude, let her go" Darien approached Seiya with a threatening look on his eyes. 'How dare he touch her like that' Darien thought, managing just barely not to kill Seiya with such a number of witnesses around.

"You let her go!" Seiya demanded, pulling Serena's hand with a lot of strength again.

"Seiya, stop it, you are hurting me" Serena exclaimed in between the two young men. "Let me go!" Serena said again so Seiya dropped her hand.

"You don't get it, I need to get you home" Seiya said to Serena

"I am going home!" Serena said.

"No… _I_ need to get you there" Seiya insisted.

"What are you talking about?" Serena asked

"I called your house just a couple of minutes ago…" Serena froze

"You did what?" she asked in hopes that his friend was just teasing her like always…like before.

"Your parents know that you are not home, Serena" Serena's world was shattering in pieces…she was in so much trouble.

"Why would you do that for?" Serena asked in a furious temper but in a particular low voice… setting the tone and showing just how enraged she was. Two tears escaped from her eyes and she sent an angry growl at Seiya just before she started hitting him with her purse. Seiya lifted his hands in defense while Darien tried to catch Serena's fast arms from the much deserved attach.

It took about forty five seconds for the present media to detect the fight. In normal circumstances, any fight that occurred in this type of event would be a huge scandal, but this was not the ordinary event. A star was involved, the lead guitar player from the hottest new boy band no less.

Flashes hit the three of them nonstop, all the while Serena kept hitting Seiya, Darien tried to pull her away from him and Seiya tried to say anything to make her stop.

"Serena, Darien!" Setsuna called over from behind the flashes as she squeezed herself into the big scene. Darien succeeded finally at trapping Serena in both his arms. He lifted her up by her waist and turned her to bring her to his chest. She wrapped her arms around his back and shielded herself with his chest, she was crying.

"Darien, what happened?" Setsuna's voice sounded rising above the paparazzi.

"This asshole here called her parents" he yelled loudly so that Seiya could hear him clearly.

"This is your fault, I wouldn't have if you just left her alone" Seiya said walking towards Darien.

"Oh, this is my fault now? Newsflash Justin Beiber, she doesn't want you! Don't you get? Or the amount of product you use on your head is finally melting your skull leading to severe hearing problems? She hasn't told you that she wants you! Deal with it like any other teenager in your position; write a cheesy song and start dating a Disney Channel actress"

"You are so dead!" Seiya said charging in his direction.

"Wow, wow, wow, stop it right there Seiya" Setsuna said getting in between him and Darien. "Go to the VIP lounge and cool off" Setsuna ordered. Seiya was pacing and thinking weather he should or shouldn't listen to Setsuna. At the slightest sign of doubt Setsuna snapped her fingers and two female security details grabbed him by both arms and showed him to the VIP lounge, all the while Setsuna lead Darien and Serena to the garage. As she approached the guarded doors one of the two large men guarding them took the lapel of his jacket and said something to the mic that was attached to it. The other security guard opened the garage door. Setsuna stopped just in front of them and said: "No media" and continued walking. Darien was closely behind her, carefully shielding Serena with his jacket from the continuous camera flashes hitting in their direction. They finally stopped walking in the middle of the garage when Setusna turned around.

"What happened? Why is it a big deal that her parents found out?" Setsuna asked.

"That's not important, what's important is that I have to take her home, quickly" Darien said, Serena has still crying by his side.

"Darien, quickly in that scooter you drive is four hours away, three and half tops" Setsuna said.

Darien stepped away from Serena and with his right arm pressed in her lower back started leading her to his scooter, I mean bike, he was leading Serena to his bike. "Then I better get going" Darien said walking away from Setsuna. She huffed and then called him back

"You aren't driving that"

"Yes, yes I am" Darien said

"No, you aren't. You are taking my car" Setsuna said grabbing something from her pocket and showing it to him. She showed him the keys to her brand new 2011, silver Camaro.

"No way, you are kidding" Darien said smiling at the sight of the key chain.

"I never kid about my baby" Setsuna said throwing Darien her keys. He caught them with ease and took a look at them.

"Serena wait for me in the car" Darien said and gave Serena the keys. She looked at him with a confused look and Darien pointed at the car right next to his bike. "Is the silver one right there"

Darien then walked towards Setsuna and stopped about a feet from her. Her piercing green eyes where shadowed by a look a worry.

"What are you doing? She didn't have permission to come, I am right?" Darien didn't answer. "Jesus, what were you thinking, this is going to be all over the tabloids. Darien, even without the fight… Does Annaleigh know about this? What are you doing? She is like twelve! And…" Setsuna shook her head. "This is what happens when you think with you dick instead of your head"

"Hey, hey, hold your tongue for a second. You don't know shit about what's being happening"

"Oh yeah? What's being happening Darien? Where is Annaleigh?"

"She broke up with me, ok? Happy now?" Darien said in an exasperated manner.

"She broke up with you? When?"

"Care for a laugh? She technically broke up with me today"

"And you move on quite quickly I suppose"

"I'm not dating Serena, she is just…she is just someone…she is a friend…she is a friend from before"

"Before the accident?"

"Yeah"

"Darien, this is bad… And why did Annaleigh brake up with anyway, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!"

"Oh, come on! She wouldn't have if she didn't have a good enough reason. What? She found out that you had something going on with Goldie Locks here?"

"First off, I haven't given her a good enough reason and second, I don't have anything going on with Serena!"

"Oh please, who do you think you are talking to. Darien, come on, the girl is obviously in love with you, and that kind of in love isn't the kind that simply stares at the back of your head in math class and simply writes on the back of her notebook "Mrs. Shields" a thousand times. You have clearly done something, you and her are both so smitten"

"What do you mean I'm smitten?"

"I saw your eyes while she was in the runway. You never saw Annaleigh with those eyes. Darien, admit it. You are in love"

"You are ridiculous"

"Fine, be on denial all that you want, the only getting herself hurt here is her. You have already put her in trouble by bringing her to New York without her parents' permission"

"I'm not specking to you anymore" Darien said shaking his head in sign of fury and stepped away from Setsuna. He started walking towards the car where he found that Serena had put on a rock station and was listening to an Evanescence track.

He got in the car and started its engine. Live and loud roard to life Setsuna's the silver Camaro when Darien turned on the ignition. He changed the gear to reverse and quickly made his way out of the garage. He saw Setsuna throw the rear mirror, still standing in the middle of the garage.

He made a turn on Times Square and quickly found himself stuck in traffic…yeah almost four o clock in the morning and there was traffic…this was after all New York City.

He finally exhaled; he was almost seeing red and felt so angry about everything…but he admitted it to himself, this was his fault.

"I'm sorry" he said out loud. Serena hadn't stop crying.

"You don't have to be" she said wiping her eyes.

"This is my fault"

"You didn't force me to come. I wanted to" Serena said in a low voice.

"Hey, maybe your mom won't be so angry about this. I come late to my place all the time"

"You don't get it"

"Come on, your mom can't be worse than my aunt"

"Obviously" Serena said, getting a bit mad herself.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Cause she is not your mom!" Serena yelled. The minute she said it she was regretting the whole thing since she noticed the look of sadness in Darien's eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it"

"Fine" was all that Darien said through the whole ride back to Boston. 'Like hell it is' Darien thought. (Oh no… we are in trouble)

* * *

7:03 am was the exact time on Setsuna's car clock when they arrive in front of the Tsukino Residence.

Darien didn't have to wake her, she couldn't sleep. She took the wig off and wiped one more time her blood shut eyes. She saw her reflection in the car mirror and saw that her mascara ran through her face. She looked like a mess, and not a good one.

She closed the mirror and turned her face to see Darien.

"I'm sorry, I really am. For what it's worth…I had an amazing time. I'm sorry about what I said and I hope you can forgive me" Serena said in a small voice.

"Don't give yourself too much credit; it didn't affect me at all. I think you should go inside…now" and Serena did, leaving from Setsuna's car extremely angry and hurt.

She opened her house front gate and walked slowly up to her front door. She took her keys and opened the door. Then she heard how Setsuna's Camaro was leaving her block.

She took a big breath and let it out. She entered her house and heard her mom over in the kitchen. She decided to go and look for her and get the yelling over with.

She stepped inside the kitchen and saw how her mom was taking out some eggs, jam, peppers and tomatoes from the fridge. 'Good' Serena thought, she was preparing omelets.

"Mom" Serena called, but Ikuko ignored her. "Mom, I'm home" Serena called again but Ikuko ignored her completely. "Mom, did you listen to me? I'm home!"

"Yes, I listen to you as you walked inside the house Serena, and then again those two other times you called for my attention, now I know you are home. Good for you" Serena huffed at hearing this.

"That's what you are telling me? Good for me, I'm home? You don't have anything else to tell me?" Serena asked furiously.

Ikuko finally turned to see her "Oh, I have a lot of things to say to you, young lady. I just don't want to waste my time and energy speaking to a wall that won't hear me"

"Mom, I'm sorry about Seiya, I didn't meant for him to call you"

"I'm not talking about him at all, Serena. You were grounded and you deliberately disobeyed me"

"I'm sorry"

"Well I'm sorry too…" Ikuko said and turned to her cutting board.

"I'm going to go to my room. I guess I'm grounded, right?"

"You are not grounded anymore" Ikuko said cutting her tomatoes.

"I'm not?" Serena asked confused about the news.

"Why should I bother? You won't listen anyway. You just do as you pleased, don't you?"

"Mom, aren't you overreacting a little bit?"

"A little bit? A little bit? I was woken up almost at two in the morning by Seiya Kou telling me and I quote: "Mrs. Tsukino, sorry to wake you, but I think you should know that Serena isn't in your house right now" You know how that feels like Serena, I bet you won't"

"I said I'm sorry"

"Serena, sorry is for the "I'm sorry about my Grammar test, I promise to study harder next time" Sorry, doesn't cut it here… and I'm sorry about that"

"Mom, what do you want me to tell you?"

"Who were you with last night?"

"Mom…"

"Tell me!" Ikuko demanded hitting the kitchen counter in the process.

"I was with Darien Shields, alright?"

"What? What were you doing with him?"

"Nothing…we were just hanging out"

"In New York?"

"A friend invited him to this party, it wasn't a big deal"

"It is a big deal! Was Annaleigh with you?"

"No…she left to L.A. yesterday in the afternoon" Serena said and Ikuko started incredulously at her. "What? Nothing happened. I promised"

"Serena, Darien has a girlfriend. You don't understand that, don't you?"

"Mom, nothing happened. Darien and I are just friends"

"Oh sweetie… Who are you kidding?"

"Mom! Nothing happened I swear…just, please; listen to what I have to say. Darien and I are…"

"Serena…you are preaching to the choir. When I boy has a girlfriend, you stay away"

"You just told me the other day to try and be friends with him"

"I didn't expect that you took that advice and end up in God knows where in New York. Serena, please. You just have to be kidding me"

"Nothing happened!"

"I just hope that you know what you are doing"

"Urggg!" Serena exclaimed. "You know what? I'm not like you, so don't worry. I won't steal away anyone's husband!" Serena yelled at her mother and ran to her room, leaving her mom leaning on the kitchen counter with both hands covering her face.

Serena stepped into her room and shut down her door harshly; making so much noise that probably the whole block could hear.

She then noticed something that she wasn't expecting at all. She ran to him the moment that she saw him. She didn't care how he got into her room, the only thing she cared about in that moment was him, and only him. She ran to his arms and was received by a caring and loving hug. She was crying so uncontrollably now that she simply let her heart and soul pour down her eyes. He simply hugged her, all the while thinking of could get back at her for saying exactly just a few words, horrible enough to make himself feel like nothing, less than nothing. Humiliating her in front of her drama class would actually seem like something cute after he was done with her. Darien promised right then and there that he was going to get back at this girl. She was the only reason after all that his life was falling out of place, right?

Darien moved them to her bed and let her cuddle next to him. She cried herself to sleep. It was almost nine when he fell asleep was well. A couple of hours past and he woke up. He found a way to roll her to the other side of the bed without stirring her much and then hopped off the bed and went to her balcony. He stretched a bit and then took out from his pocket a cigarette box, picked one and lighted it up.

He didn't sense the other person coming to the balcony up until that certain person spoke.

"I remember when I was your age and I thought that smoking was the coolest thing on Earth"

Darien turned around and saw a somewhat familiar face. He studied it. The person was a bit taller than Serena, was blonde too. This person had a very fragile frame, was very thin and wore a couple of tiny wrinkles under her brown eyes. That person was Serena's mother. She had her arms crossed over her chest and was wearing a tall, pink turtleneck and some faded jeans. She had her hair pulled in a tight and neat bun, leaving just behind her bangs which frame perfectly her face. She was very beautiful, she was almost as beautiful as Serena and could perfectly passed for her older sister, and that wasn't just a cliché…she could. Her eyes showed a much younger spirit than any other mother he had ever met. Younger that Andrew's mom, younger his teachers and much, much younger than Annaleigh's mom…that was for sure.

"Do you have another one?" she asked Darien, not losing the smile in her eyes. She certainly didn't seem like she was about to yell at him or anything so, he took his package again and offer her one and help her light it. She inhaled deeply and then let it all out. She took the cigarette out of her mouth and then moved to the banister.

"You know, that's my first one after almost fifteen years and a half"

"Why so long?" Darien asked

"I stopped smocking when I found out that I was pregnant" Ikuko said.

"Was it hard?" Darien asked out of curiosity.

"Not at all… I got to eat all the chocolate I wanted… plus I knew that I was doing my babies a favor; I haven't regretted that decision after. But, today… I was woken up in the middle of the night by a fourteen year old kid that has being in love with my daughter ever since the day he saw her and almost cried through the receiver that she wasn't home. I almost hanged and started calling 9-1-1. I was so worried about her. And believe me, those four hours waiting for her to show up had being by far the worse four hours of my life…and I gave birth to twins" Dairen chuckled.

"Will I be able to see her again?"

"As in a date?" Ikuko asked.

"Just friends" Ikuko shook her head and turned her sight to the horizon.

"I hope you know what you are getting yourself into. I don't think my daughter will ever know the difference between a friendship and a different kind of relationship with you. For her, and for all that she had to go through these years… I think that for her it's all or nothing. You really don't have much to lose; she does… everything all over again."

"Believe me… if anything goes wrong… I'm the one who's all in… I've showed her all of my cards, I have nothing to hide."

"Yes you do. I can tell" Darien wasn't expecting for her to say that, normally people believed everything he had to say. He had to be extra careful now, if he wanted to still have a chance to make his plan work. That's what he wanted, right? To make her fell like crap? Get back at her for ditching him like that after the accident? 'You don't have a mother' Did he really need any further reminder? And from the girl that was supposed to be his best friend… what the hell was all the walk back to forgotten memory lane the previous day? He was talking about them… about the stories of the camp and their families if they shared something more, something else… and that' how she treated him? He soooooo going to get back. His plan was simple enough. Make the girl fall in love with him, few kisses here and there and then declare his false love for her. That would be amazing, right? And with his amazing acting and improvising skills, during their one scene together in the school play, make her look like a complete fool, in front of the whole school. He had to be careful if he wanted it to work though.

"I know that you are a good kid, you aunt raised you well." Darien chuckled again. "Just promise me one thing?" Ikuko asked

"What is that?" Darien said, not losing his now, sad smile.

"You won't hurt her" Darien chuckled again.

"Mrs. Tsukino, I like her…and I need you to know that I would never dare to hurt Serena"

"You and Annaleigh are still together?"

"It's complicated" Darien said after thinking a lot his answer.

"Like I said…don't hurt her. I trust you" Ikuko said throwing to the floor her cigarette and stepping into it so she could light it off. "You may visit her and she can't come out for the rest of the term"

"Will do" Darien said

"Oh, and Darien, one more thing; your grandfather on the side of your mom died of lung cancer. I'm telling you because Sylvia and John probably haven't seeing you smocking yet. You probably shouldn't"

"Thanks" Darien said throwing to the floor his cigarette as well. After he stepped on it he saw how she closed carefully Serena's door.

* * *

Darien moved again to Serena's bedroom and took a long look at her. She looked like a little angel when she sleep…a snoring one… but cute nevertheless. Could he possibly be wrong by wanting to ruin her life? Of course he was; what kind of question was that? He had to get out of her room quickly before he had anymore second thoughts about his life-destroying plans.

He climbed down the tree he used to reach her room and then decided to take a long walk to clear his head.

'What would Annaleigh do in a situation like this?'

He had never approved of her manipulating tendencies. He also did not like when she had a particular target on her mind and orchestrated a whole situation to ruin someone's life and make her look like the hero. He hated it, actually. But he couldn't really hate her… for much that he did not like how Annaleigh operated; she had always had a reason to do so.

First time he saw Annaleigh working her magic was actually to help him…his first day of school.

He didn't want to go to school that day…but he hated even more the idea of having absolutely nothing else to do in the house where he lived with his aunt and uncle. They were nice and all but he just wanted to escape his miserable condition. School would bring him the opportunity of meeting new people and maybe have friends…he could use a friend.

He arrived at the prestigious 10th City Academy and went with Sylvia and John to the principal's office to fill out all of the paperwork. His uncle finished all the necessary forms and then met some of his new teachers. They all said how sorry they were about his condition and how proud they were that Darien wanted to rejoin school after so little. Some of them even expressed their worry that maybe Darien wasn't completely ready and recommended for him to take only the basic curriculum. Darien quitted the conversation shortly. 'Idiots' he thought, 'How could they possibly know what' too much for me'.

He moved with a lot of difficulty his chair with his one good arm and brought it to the main hall of the school which looked to a beautiful garden full of flowers and in the center, a very big tree. Darien took a deep breath and in the time that it took to inhale, the bell rang, announcing to all students that their first break had begun.

Darien changed his expression for one of complete freight. 'What would they think of me? The freak in the wheel chair? This was bad idea of epic proportions' As soon as he tried to wheel himself out of the hallway, was when people started to recognized him. It was worse than he thought. They were gathering by him, some of them would pass along him, whispering to the kids by their side. Others would point at him as they walk pass him. The brave ones, walked to him and introduced themselves and asked him how he was, told him that they saw what happened to him in the news. For Darien's lack of response, a few kids laughed at him. Other kept asking him questions like 'Do you remember what happened?' 'Darien do you remember me, I used to go and play at your house' 'Do you remember when you parents died?'

Darien closed his eyes and started to get a little bit dizzy. He wanted to have super human strength in his good arm so he could make a quick escape from the growing crowd around him. But then an angel came.

"What are you all doing here? The Headmaster called for an assembly in the school's auditorium. Go!" a young girl with light brunette girl said in front of him. She was very beautiful and tall for her age. She was maybe fourteen and wore her hair down. It moved with the light breeze from the open hallway.

"What assembly, we didn't hear anything about this"

"That's because all of you are very busy badgering worse than anyone on The View. Just go to the assembly" And with that one by one of the people bothering Darien on the hallway left, all but a kid, blond one, very faired hair and complexion, about the same age a Darien.

"Diamond, jut leave to the freaking assembly" the girl pressed again to the blond kid.

"There' no assembly, is it Leigh?"

"Don't you dare call me that?"

"Oh, what is it sweetheart? Angry at me because I haven't call back?"

"Please…I rather eat my own vomit than ever going out with you" the girl said back.

"And if the rumor I heard is right, that might actually be twice the calories you are eating now. Oh…what's the matter Leigh? Did I hit a nerve there? Or are you just too hungry to think of a clever come back?

"Whatever Diamond, just leave…know"

"Well, well, well, looks like the rumor was right… What? Are you afraid that you wait more than a pound now? In that case I should tell you that you look kind of fat in that skirt you are wearing… you should come by my house later and help take it off"

"Oh, for God's sake, you are disgusting. Just leave me the hell alone Diamond, you aren't getting any from me, not now, not ever, not even when you wake up with a brand new face or personality o why don't you just let me be so you can go back to your sad, pathetic life"

He approached the girl and with one hand took her chin. She responded by slapping him hard on the face. Diamond wasn't happy about it.

But right when he was about respond was when Annaleigh felt a hard push from behind, forcing her to lift her arms and push Diamond backwards and into the ground. As she was about to fall down as well, the same force pulled her from her skirt to the other direction and made her end up of the new boy's lap. He had pushed her with his chair and back again with his hand to his lap.

Annaleigh ended up on Darien's chair and both of them looked how Diamond was pissed as hell and got up from the ground.

"Do you have any idea how I am?"

"A moron?" Darien answered in a smirk… "No? Well not you nor your name made my Top 10 list of things to remember after having a car crash. Believe me, even if I did remember, it would be a waste"

"I'm Diamond Blackmoon you idiot and you are going to regret this, you'll be wishing to be in a wheelchair for the rest of your life after I'm done with you" he said walking towards Darien.

Annaleigh then heard queue from her back and began to action. She stood up from Darien's lap and pushed Diamond back from them. The door from the school's foyer was opening while Annaleigh said "What are you going to hurt a girl and a boy in a wheelchair"

"Children, what's going on here?" Headmaster Carter asked.

"Nothing Headmaster…" Annaleigh said before she let out a sob. Diamond shook his head in astonishment of her sneaky-ness.

"Mr. Blackmoon, explain yourself" Headmaster Carter demanded as he and Darien's uncle and aunt approached him.

"Darien, are you ok sweetheart?" Sylvia asked him as she kneeled down right next to him.

Darien said nothing, simply looked at Annaleigh in surprise. She certainly didn't struck him to be such a fragile girl, but sure that the things that Diamond could have upset her, that's what he thought up until he saw her wink.

"I was just trying to protect her" Darien said out loud.

"I'm sorry, this is my entire fault, and I was just trying to call everyone to the assembly Headmaster" Annaleigh said looking at Diamond and then back again to the Headmaster. "I'm sorry" and Annaleigh started sobbing again. "I was just trying to make Diamond go…"

"Yes Mr. Blackmoon, why aren't you in the assembly"

"I thought she was lying" Diamond said.

"Why would I lie?" Annaleigh said, letting a tear fell from her eyes (And the Oscar goes to…)

"Mr. Blackmoon, you should wait for me in my office" Headmaster Carter said.

After Diamond left Sylvia stood up and said: "Maybe this was a bad idea. Darien maybe we should try this when you get better" But Darien did not care, he actually, and sorry if this sounds too weird, had just had fun.

"I'm ok, Sylvia, really. Annaleigh, are you ok?"

"I am" she said.

"Well then, we should continue with our little tour" Headmaster Carter said as he showed The Shields the rest of the school.

"And here as you can see…" Headmaster Carter started to say.

"Is The Great Hallway. The stones where exported from Venice and they are more than two hundred years old" Annaleigh said in a small voice loud enough for only Darien to hear.

She then took Darien chair and started to head in the opposite direction.

"Where are we going?" Darien asked.

"Well…I have my own tour for the people I think deserve it. You know, the cool spot in the cafeteria, and the library and I'll show you how to cut in line and who to ask for extra ice cream in the dessert stand"

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Darien asked and Annaleigh stopped the chair. She came into his view and the kneeled down to his level.

"I'm sorry I used you back there…Diamond has being bugging me for a while and I just thought that this could be the perfect time to get rid of him"

"Will he be expelled?"

"No…his parents have a great lawyer…none of my tricks have worked so far"

"Well, that' too bad. I guess it will be kind of fun"

"What?" Annaleigh asked.

"Making him get expelled" Darien answered.

"Seriously?"

"Please… I don't know him and I already hate him… It will be really fun"

"I knew we had a lot in common"

"What do you mean?"

"I'll tell you later, but first…" he said showing him her hand. "The name is Annaleigh Roberts"

"Darien Shields" he said shaking her hand with his good arm.

"You can call me Leigh"

"I can?"

"Sure"

"Well, in that case…you can still call me Darien" and they both laughed.

Darien discovered that she actually had just turned fifteen and was in his same class in third year… something told him that…even though he was supposed to be in second… she had had something to do with it.

Darien kept thinking, 'What would Annaleigh do?'

She would have done nothing…it was Serena he was thinking about. Annaleigh would jut have forgiven her… like always.

Maybe the whole thing with the revenge wasn't worth it. He liked Serena, he really did. But she had really hurt him.

He decided that in…Annaleigh's fashion, he was going to wait, search, gather as much information as he could and wait for the right moment to make his punch… little that he know, that was going to be one of his Top 10 worst mistakes of his life.

He arrived, didn't exactly know how his little walk led him to school, maybe it was inertia which brought him there on a game day.

He then realized that the Out Reach Program members were also gathered and helping with a homeless pets home search.

We went to see the little monsters when one caught his eye. He didn't knew why we was doing it, or if it was part of the plan at all but he just did.

* * *

By seven in the evening Serena was having an extremely quiet dinner with her family when the door bell rang.

"Is Elena coming sweetheart?" Ikuko said standing up and going to the living room. Everyone stood up as well and went to the door. Ikuko opened the door and then didn't saw anyone until she heard a meow.

A kitten was in a basket with a big red bow. The basket had a card that said in big letters: Adopt me. Inside the card the letter said:

_Tsukino Family, _

_I want to formally apologize to you for the caused problems I made happened last night. It was a judgment mistake and I realize that my errors are a product of mistreated bad behavior on my behalf. I promise that something like this won't ever happen again. I take complete responsibility and as a sign of apology I took Serena's place in today's school activities. I don't know if you already have any pets but this little gal was going to be left alone in the pound. She was found with her brothers and sisters by the side of the road where her mother was found out dead, probably hit by a car. I ask of you to open your house and hearts and give room to her, since her other siblings found a home today; I didn't want to send her again to the pound. I hope you agree to this and find in your infinite compassion to accept her and me into your family._

_Thanks again and I hope to see you all soon._

_D.S_

Ikuko read the card and passed it to Ken for him to read.

"Damn it" he said

"What is it?"

"I still can't hate him" Ken said with a smile on his face. He took the basket from the porch and put it on the couch in the living room.

Both Sammy and Serena looked eager to see the small cat. She was black and had a small bald spot on her forehead that looked like a crescent moon.

"So, Bunny, how do you want to call her?" Ken said.

"Luna" Serena said immediately and lifted little Luna from her basket. "Your name is Luna".

* * *

Who would have guesed, more than a year in the making... God, thank you so much for reading. Believe me, op many days passed that I couldn't even put a coma on the story and asked my friend Kathey, I was really depressed because I missed writing so much. But don't worry, I am finally going to be able to graduate as a Maketing Specialist and yes...I'm still working in HR. I promise to try and keep you posted from now on my blog (when I ay now, I mean next week). Work is still hard but I'm going to make the effort.

HYHE, is progresing beautifully, better than I ever dreamed off, do you know that I still get people favoring it? That's what' brought me back to you. The comments and reviews (please review) and the fact that a little fan has asked me to borrow my little creating for her to play... I guess Annaleigh wan't as hated as I thought lol

Thanks to all of you, hugs and kisses and I really hope you like the chapter (don't hate Darien so much, please...after a chapter or two you will be all be back at loving him) which brings me to tell you that chapter 23 is almost done (amazing right?)

Don't mind so much the Grammar in this one, it' un-betaed... I was just too exited about posting it (plus I added a lot of new stuff from it's original form)

BTW, thanks to the person who stopped me from having a special appereance from Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens in the chapter...that would have being too much.

(Just I reminder, I did changed my mind like a zillion of times before settling into this version, tell me what do you think)

And remember to fo to my profile to review the characters and to read about my next possible few projects and help me pick my next... Haven't you had enough may be over before you know.

I love you, thanks again my loyal readers, without you...I think you know the end of the chesst phrase


	23. Chapter 23

I actually have no excuse this time for how late I am, I am so sorry, like Serena sorry.

But in the good news front, I am sick...on my birthday. Yes I'm turning 23 today, so wish me a happy birthday on the reviews I'm hoping to read tomorrow when I get to work and not answer work related mail for at leat half an hour.

I really like this chapte, I hope you do too, it has a little sexy here and there, nothing you'll want to rip your eyes from and just a hint, picture Ken as Dennis Quaid in his "Parent's Trap" years, I do that and it always does the trick.

Well, I'll go back to my bed and stay there on my missery.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 23

An affair to remember

Serena woke up, for a change, very early the next morning. She stretched her arms as high and wide as she could while Luna was still wrapped on the covers on her bed.

She pulled herself out of her bed and then walked quietly to her bathroom to take a quick shower before she left for school. She exited the bathroom all fresh and vanilla scented and went to her room to get changed. As in her usual routine, she got on her tights, skirt and shirt; she moved to her mirror to put on her red tie and then walked downstairs to the kitchen where her mother was preparing breakfast.

"Morning" Serena said approaching her mother to give her a peck on the cheek.

"Someone's got a happy face today" Ikuko answered.

"I am a happy face today" Serena said taking out the apple juice from the fridge.

"Wait, you aren't supposed to be happy if I just grounded your for the rest of the term" Ikuko said putting some bacon and eggs on a couple of plates.

"Well, the kitty is too cute to be unhappy about anything else. I can't believe he did that, Darien is so thoughtful"

"He sure is" Ikuko said with an air of sarcasm.

"Well, it wasn't his fault. I screwed up mom, I'm sorry"

"Well, you know it's not ok, but I did expected less stupidity from an eighteen year old, even if I didn't know exactly if you were hanging out with him again. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I guess I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. I do get what you meant about him still being Annaleigh's boyfriend and believe me, I don't want to get in between the two of them but…I do want to stay friends with him mom. I owe him that much"

"You owe him a chance out of a friendship, Serena. Nothing more. I don't want you to feel pressured into being with him and doing the stuff he is used to do in order to be his friend. If that's the case…"

"It isn't. New York was just a bad idea. I'm really sorry"

"I hope so, young lady. And, about what you told me yesterday…"

"I didn't mean it. Mom, the past two days haven't being my greatest recollection of moments. I was just stupid"

"I was going to say that I am sorry I can't put a better example in myself for you and Sammy. I know that what I did to Beryl…I will never be proud of that. I destroyed a family and I took away the dreams of two little girls. I will never forgive myself for that. I know that your father and I are happy and thanks to that I have a wonderful family. But I shouldn't have"

"Mom, but he is happy now…I mean I know that Beryl, Kitty and Birdie hate our guts but to be fair they aren't nice at all…dad was very unhappy. Beryl made him unhappy…she…she cheated on him"

"Oh sweetie…but that doesn't change a thing, does it?"

The thought remain in Serena's mind for the entire breakfast and her walk to school.

What her mother did was wrong. It didn't matter if Ken was unhappy.

It was around fall in the year 1992 when they met. Ikuko Ishikawa had entered Brown with a scholarship, a sports scholarship. She was the star of her track team back when she was in high school and so, since she wanted to have a degree in either Literature or Education she approached both her parents and asked if it was a possibility to go to college at all. I won't lie, they did worry a bit, they had other four children to up bring and after the recession in the 80's, the family was still struggling.

But the news were a thrill for her parents and so they began looking for possibilities to send her, their eldest, to Community College. About a week later, scavengers from several Ivy's were looking for her, offering her a chance out of a scholarship, all Ikuko had to do was run. And so, the Brown Bears got a new track star on their team.

During her college years she party like any other teenager, she wasn't a stranger to a social smoke or a couple of beers while she watched The Sox's play on the Sports Center, for obvious reasons she was very popular with the boys, she had the brains, she had the slim and fit body of an athlete and she liked sports. But she wasn't interested in any of the boys that asked her out constantly; she had her eyes set on her English professor.

Her first day of class, she was the first one in. She didn't even think of putting on any make-up, she was wearing a pair of boyfriend jeans and a simple white t-shirt. When she walked into the class she picked a sit in the front row, no one else was there, just the wood sits, the countless shelves packed with books and the chalkboard that simply read the name of her future professor; Kenshin Tsukino.

Then, as she finished reading the name she saw him come into class. The sight of him made her completely red in an instant. His perfectly groomed, dirty blond hair, his navy jacket, his perfectly ironed white shirt and his beige trousers, everything on him screamed perfection, even his thick glasses. He put his books in the corner of his desk and then leaned into them to catch his breath and took a look at his surroundings.

"Everything looks the same" he said to himself.

As soon as he caught sight of beautiful Ikuko on the first row was when he lost balance and leaned further into the air, making, of course, his books fall down from the desk.

"Damn it" he said to himself again and hurry to pick them up from the floor. Ikuko came as well to help her teacher and as they finished gathering the books was when they both raised their heads, causing them to bump them pretty hard.

"Ouch!" they both exclaimed.

"God! I'm so sorry! I'm such a mess. Let me take these from you. God! Are you alright?" Ken asked in a hurry.

"I am, you don't have to apologize" Ikuko said.

"I do…it's not my habit to day dream. Forgive me, my name is Kenshin Tsukino" said Ken as he offered her his hand to shake.

"My pleasure, I'm Ikuko Ishikawa"

"You are Ishikawa?" Ken asked in a shock

"Yes…" Ikuko said timidly

"Very well, Ms. Ishikawa, I can't believe my luck to have a celebrity in my classroom"

"Oh please Professor I'm hardly a celebrity, and please call me Ikuko"

"Such a pretty name"

They both saw in each other's eyes and smiled. They stayed there for the longest short moment until a low beep coming from his pager distracted them. Ken looked for his beeper on the right pocket of his jacket and took it out.

"It's my wife, would you excused me?" Ken asked Ikuko

She couldn't help her look of disappointment as she heard him say that he had a wife and secretly wished that he was referring to an ex-wife.

Ken soon exited the classroom and made his way to his office where he found his phone and dialed home.

(867-5309…who knows this number?)

"Hello, Tsukino Residence?" a nosy voice with a hint of a southern accent answered the voice.

"Hi Beryl, I received your message, is everything alright?"

"Oh yeah darling, everything is fine"

"How are the girls doing?"

"Oh, I don't know dear, you will have to ask the nanny, I think she took them for a walk or something. Listen dear, I need to know if I can use the credit card today"

"Again?"

"Well, you know that I have my hair dresser's appointment today and I want to go shopping for a new dress for that fancy dinner of yours. Come on dear, let me use the card"

"God Beryl! Fine, use it, but please, could you go run the errands? Lucy told me…"

"Wait! You want me to run errands? Oh Honey…is not that I don't want to, I just can't today. Let Lucy do it, I don't know why you pay her so much anyway. Let her do the errands, I have other important things to do around the house. But well, thanks again for the cards and the call. See you at dinner, don't be late" She blew him a quick kiss and hanged up the phone. Ken simply sighed and wondered about the time when he was in love with a sweet, young, southern belle. Such a long time ago.

Ken returned to the classroom and realized that for the first time in his life he was running five minutes late. He arrived, rushing through the door. He closed the door and introduced himself to the class.

"Good afternoon, I'll be your professor during this semester and you may or may not have heard things about me from former students. Yes…I'm…very, very , very demanding; but if Mr. Waters, the Head of the department, didn't go totally wrong giving me this job, you will learn something here, and if I achieved that, then failing you will be worth it" Ken said and everyone laughed. Ken approached his desk and looked again at his class. His eyes met again those beautiful brown ones and stayed right there. "But what do I know?… I'm been tested still, maybe you'll get lucky and pass" the class laughed again.

"In front of you you'll find the list of books we'll be reading this semester. Some of you have already read a few, a few of you have read them all and the couple of you who are starting to feel lost right now have read none. Let me tell you to that couple, start reading, this semester won't be easy, I actually give myself a bad name for being tough…don't worry, you'll enjoy the ride"

Ikuko melted in her chair as he talked, he was her definition of perfect; tall, handsome, and incredibly smart: so incredibly sexy. Too bad he was married.

Ken continued to talk for most of the class while the students took notes about facts and interesting insight he was sharing. Ikuko on the other hand was trying extremely hard to concentrate; Ken's voice was way too sexy for her. After a while Ikuko couldn't helped but to drift, and think about…possibilities.

Was it wrong? Thinking… wanting for him to be single?

"Miss Ishikawa? Miss Ishikawa?" Oh God, there he was…Dennis Quaid, I mean Ken Tsukino, calling for her. "Miss Ihikawa?" Ikuko turned to look at her teacher.

"Elizabeth Bennet and Elionor Dashwood" Ikuko said quickly.

"Yes, thank you. In fact Jane Austen had started to write 'Pride and Prejudice' sooner than she finished 'Sense and Sensibility'. Elizabeth and Elionor were her first heroines, but we can all see a resemblance in her latter novels. Mr. Perez what do you think?" Ken asked and the class continued.

After the two hour class finished, Ken explained briefly about the tutoring program they might need (joke) and then he explained that they should look into becoming active in the Literary Department if they really wanted to have a start in their career life. He reminded everyone about some vacancies as student assistants and in the school paper as well.

Bell ranged and everybody started to gather their things, everybody but Ikuko. Ken approached her desk and asked: "Is everything alright? Miss Ishikawa? Miss Ishikawa? Ikuko? Are you listening to me? Serena? Serena? Wake-up! Serena!"

"Whoa, yeah" Serena said snapping from her dream.

"Daydreaming again?" Sammy asked as they walked to school, he by the side of his girlfriend.

"Yeah…just thinking about some stuff I talked about with mom."

"What were you talking about with her?" Sammy asked as the three of them entered the school grounds and started to pass alongside with several students who at Serena's sight stopped completely what they were doing.

"Just some stuff, about me and her and some things…it's giving me a lot to think about" Serena said and noticed that everyone was staring at them…not them…her. Some of the people near the lockers were caring some magazines with them, some people were reading them, some were laughing with some other people looking at some pictures, other guys were giving themselves hi5ves when passing near them; it was just too weird.

"What the hell is going on?" Serena asked herself out loud.

"I don't know…you haven't done anything you would regret in the last 24 hours, have you?" asked an approaching horrible, pitchy voice.

"You have something to do with this?" Serena asked Emerald.

"No, you did this one all by yourself. And frankly not even I could have planned it better" Emerald said playing with her hair and posing like a wannabe model on her first day in a reality show.

Serena looked at her with a confused expression in her face.

"You really don't know what's going on, do you?" Emerald asked

"No" Serena said worriedly.

"And it's not any of your God damn business Emerald" Darien said, appearing from nowhere.

"Mind your tongue Darien, Annaleigh is not here so you can hide under her skirt, no pun intended"

"Why don't you go by yourself a brain Emerald, and a personality to go with it" Darien said taking Serena's hand in his own. This little act did not go unnoticed.

"I hope everybody is getting a good look at this, people. She is a home-wrecker to be!" Emerald yelled in the hallway causing Darien to turn quickly and stare at her.

"Wait for me here" Darien said to Serena. He then approached quickly Emerald who was trying not to look too intimidated.

"Stop it" Darien said to her in his most intimidating self.

"What do you see in her? What does everyone sees I her? She is…she is" Emerald tried to said but got interrupted by Darien.

"For starters she is everything you will never be" After that Darien went back to Serena, getting near some first years, some kids who were looking at the pictures in one of the magazines that were around the hallway. Darien approached the kids, pushed the kid holding the magazine to the nearest locker, Darien took the magazine from his hand and left. The kid obviously crashed against the locker and everybody simply stared, jaws dropped, people couldn't believe.

Darien then, approached Serena, who swallowed as she saw him coming. Darien grabbed her hand and took her to the library, to the little cubicle where she was supposed to meet her new tutor. He opened the door and let Serena get in the little cubicle. He closed it and let a big breath.

"Ok, what's going on?" Serena asked

"You didn't see it?" Darien asked back.

"See what?" Serena asked desperately.

"You didn't watch the morning news?"

"Wait, there are news in the morning too?"

"Oh my God, I don't have time for this I have to get to a stupid Advanced Biology Class if I want to get into med school. Just read this" Darien said giving Serena the magazine he had previously….borrowed from the first year. "Read it"

Serena saw the cover. "Teens gone wild" the magazine said.

"This is "us"" Serena said indignantly.

"Yep, us in "Us Weekly" Darien said.

"God" Serena whispered.

She opened the magazine and quickly found the six page spread of her rumble in New York. Thank God the paparazzi shoot her good side. Then she read the article out loud.

"Looks like a new crowd of New Jersey kids, our bad, Boston kids, found their way to the incredibly limited access party held by former super model Setsuna Meioh, where she along with Nintendo paid tribute to The Beatles and the juiciest line of Juicy Couture. Turns out that new comer model Serena Tsukino, making her baby steps into the fashionista world, wearing the most exclusive line of Juicy Couture, rocked the runway on her diva debut. She supposedly was accompanied by no other than long time boyfriend of Annaleigh Roberts, the model/activist who is soon going to make her first film along with super star sensation Vincent Chase. There were rumors of a break-up which we now can confirm since the boyfriend, Darien Shields, student body president of his current school, the prestigious 10th City Academy was let say, protective of the model.

Look out people! It looks like the new comer model has her eyes set on Roberts's guy. She was seen exchanging looks with him in the runway and seemed, as our people tells us overly eager to be _spending the night with him. _But wait, the sixteen year old model doesn't stop until she gets what she wants. Another heartthrob attended the party, another one who seemed eager to encounter the little home wrecker in the making. Pop music newest prince made an appearance at the party as well. Seiya Kou, lead singer and guitar player of the pop band Three Lights seemed to have had a past with the model as well, as Shields, Tsukino and Kou ended up in a fight where the two men ended up in the hospital.

No comments have been received by any of their PR's…but we can be pretty sure that Hollywood was one more relationship wrecker to be worried about" Serena read it again in silence so she could get hit again by everything in the article.

"They called me a home wrecker" Serena said sadly.

"Serena..." Darien tried to say but she didn't let him

"This was in the news too?"

"It's everywhere really, People, Star, the National Enquirer, Page Six…"

"How on Earth did we get on Page Six?"

"I don't know… I just know that this has been none stop since midnight… Twitter, everywhere"

"Oh my God!" Serena said pacing back and forth for a little bit "God! Annaleigh must be furious with me!"

"I don't think so, she sent out a tweet. Look" Darien said showing Serena his iphone on Annaleigh's profile page.

"I can't believe people would actually believe the stuff that comes out of tabloids. I love my friends" Serena read on Annaleigh's most recent post.

"Did she actually wrote that or her publicist did?" Serena asked

"I think she actually tells her publicist what to do… but the important thing is that at least her 5000 followers are going to listen to her at least"

"Did you just say 5000 followers! Annaleigh has that many? I mean…how?"

"Well… she kind of donates to charity, _Peta_ I think, for every follower she gets…so it's not such a bad thing that she gets this many followers"

"How much does she donates?"

"Dollar a follower"

"Wow…"

"Yeah, tell me about it"

"But that's not important right now. Half the world thinks I'm a home wrecker… what am I supposed to do right now?" Serena asked. Darien grabbed with his hand her chin, he made her look at him.

"Don't give a rat's ass what everybody thinks" he said.

"Easier said than done" Serena said

"Then I won't leave you alone if you think it could help"

"But people will just assume that…"

"Serena, what everybody thinks doesn't matter. You and I know the truth, what else would you want?" (For him to be with her…just saying)

"For everybody not to think that my calling in life is in destroying other people's relationships"

"Serena, you haven't destroyed anything. Don't listen to them. You haven't harmed anything that wasn't meant to be broken already"

"So, you and Ann…"

"Me and Leigh…is complicated" Darien said tilting his face towards Serena's. Serena swallowed as she saw Darien's lips getting nearer hers. She let out a small sigh.

He put his forehead on hers; he let out a sigh as well. Both of them closed their eyes. Darien put his free hand on the smallest part of her back, just near her behind and moved it up, painfully slow until he reached the back of her head. He freed his hand from her chin just soon enough for him to catch her, since weak knees had just had too much, he pushed her to him. Then, they were just like that, a centimeter apart from each other's lips, when he dared to moved them to the neck…and then the corner of her mouth. He moved his lips again, and this time, opening his eyes he whispered on her ears: "while you and me…are something else"

Serena, still closed eyes said: "Just friends?" making her eyes water, just from how painful those two little, harmless words were.

"Sort off" Darien answered.

Serena opened her eyes and tried saying something. "Thanks… for yesterday. I love yo… the the the kitty. I named her Luna. Everyone loves her, she's perfect. And thanks for being there. You have no idea, what it meant to me, thanks and I'm so sorry… I know that I said some things…but I just wanted you to know that I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean it… I'm so sorry. I loved your mother… so much" Darien fringed, he hated the fact that torturing her was going to torture him. Was this really such a good idea to begin with? He saw into her eyes and she was honest. There wasn't a hint of deceit in them. Was this such a good idea? Was it, really? Darien was extremely troubled with the question. And the even bigger problem… he liked her. He needed to think.

He separate just an inch and kissed her cheek and said: "Good luck with the new tutor".

"Thanks" said Serena brushing away a traitor tear.

Darien left the room without another word said. Serena then moved and sat in an empty chair in the little cubicle. She tossed her backpack and other pink stuff in the table and then took off her jacket and made out of it a little pillow. She rolled the jacket and then proceed to rest her head on it, making time until Sapphire came to start the torture…I mean the tutoring.

She closed her eyes… she saw Darien kissing her cheek…slowly, painfully slow…moving his way to the corner of her mouth…

He moved so slow that time didn't seem her time anymore, and she wasn't herself, she was her mother and in Darien's place was her father.

Ikuko had just come back from her practice when she reached quickly the department of Literature in her school. She was sweaty, only wearing her training outfit, really short shorts, her Nike sports bra and a large sweater that reached her knees which remain opened. The sweater was a loan from a team member. He gave the sweater to Ikuko the second she read on her beeper that there was an emergency with her professor, Prof. Ken Tsukino. She opened the door of the department and quickly made her way to Ken's office.

"How long this time?" Ikuko asked Anna, Ken's secretary.

"I think a couple of days but he hasn't come out since yesterday. You better make him come out of there" the rather large woman said rearranging herself on her sit.

Ikuko knocked twice at Ken's office and then she announced that she was coming in. She entered the little office and found herself surrounded by darkness from the shut curtains and a heavy smell of whisky and cigarettes flooded the atmosphere while Charleston music played on his radio.

She found him sleep on his couch and grabbing on a bottle of liquor like it was his life… or his failed marriage.

"My God" Ikuko whispered and moved over Ken and took from his hands the bottle of Jack. Then she shook a bit his shoulder to try and wake him up. He did, opening his sky blue eyes. He came across with her own honey colored ones and kept staring at them for a while. He blinked twice and closed them again.

"I'm still dreaming, aren't I" he said in a raspy voice.

"Why would you say that?" Ikuko asked in a sweet voice.

"I saw an angel"

"Ken you should wake up"

"She was cheating on me Cookie… can you believe it? What about our girls?" Ken said pulling Ikuko by his side on the couch. She didn't go for it, instead she kneeled down to his level while he pulled himself up and sat on the couch. His once, perfectly blue eyes tainted red in a second and now tears weld on them. He fell on her lap and started crying. She brushed his hair and stood there, hugging him.

"I love you" he said after a while

"I love you too" she answered him.

"I'm sorry that I'm putting you through this. You deserve so much better"

"You have nothing to be sorry about. Ken, you haven't cheated like she did"

"I stopped loving her the moment I saw you Cookie. God… have you ever felt like you just came 5 years too late to something"

"Have I ever felt that?"

"Yes?"

"Yes"

"Why did you become my assistant Ikuko?"

"Because I wanted to be near you"

"Why did you babysit all the times I asked you, even if you knew I was with Beryl"

"Because I wanted to be near you"

"Why did you come here? Why did you come when Anna called you?"

"Because I wanted to be near you" Ikuko said, shedding a tear. Ken brushed it with his lips. Both of them were now on their knees, Ken taller than her was shadowing her with his frame. He put his arms around her and kissed her, slowly at first but as time passed by their unattended sexual tension was starting to carry them away. As Ken slipped Ikuko from her borrowed sweater she reacted.

"No Ken" she said and stood up from the floor. "We can't and you know that. You haven't had anything to regret so far. Leave this marriage with that dignity"

"I don't deserve you"

"No, you don't" she said, offering Ken a hand so he could stand up, he took it. "I'll bring you a cup of coffee and you should definitely think about an apartment"

"You mean I can't move in with you?" Ken said with a mischievous smile.

"Into my crappy apartment? I think it's way out of your league"

"Why?" Ken asked intrigued.

"Only young people live there" Ikuko said.

"That hurts Cookie, you have no idea how much that hurts" Ken said smiling.

"You'll get over it. I'll bring you coffee" Ikuko said opening Ken's office door, but at the same time someone barge in. Someone with a southern accent no less.

"Well, well, well, seems like you got over the news just fine" Beryl said as she went in the office. Anna's figure showing from Beryl's back gesturing how she couldn't do anything to prevent Beryl to come in and how sorry she was. Ikuko simply showed her understanding eyes.

"Oh, Mrs. Tsukino, I'm sorry. I was just about to bring Professor Tsukino a cup of coffee would you like some?" Ikuko said.

"Don't worry about my husband, honey. I see that you have done enough for him" Beryl said.

"Mrs. Tsukino, it's not like that…" Ikuko tried to explain.

"Spare me the lies Ikuko and bring me a hot, none fat cappuchino, no sugar, no foam with whipped cream" Beryl said shoving to Ikuko her coat. "And the girls at in hall, look out for them, will you?" Beryl finished as Ikuko met eyes with Ken and made herself out of the office and closed the door.

"What do you see in that good for nothing girl is beyond me" Beryl said to Ken taking off her leather gloves.

"Why are you here?" Ken asked losing his temper.

"I just want to make myself perfectly clear that whatever pre-nup your little judgemental family made me sing is going to hell"

"You cheated Beryl!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Professor of the year, but you haven't been exactly a model husband either"

"How dare you?"

"That girl out there? I see how you two see each other, Kenshin. For god sakes! You know how embarrassing it most feel to know that your husband is in love with some girl out of a small town in the middle of no-where whose almost fifteen years younger than you?"

"I've heard enough Beryl. You know perfectly well that nothing has happened between Ikuko and me"

"Oh, thank God, that is making me feel so much better now, my husband hasn't slept around with the tramp he has for an assistant"

"That's enough Beryl! I won't take this crap from you after you slept with whom exactly? Was it the yoga instructor or the dog walker?"

"You bastard! You better understand that my lawyer is convinced that we can get double the money from the pre-nup"

"There won't be a negotiation Beryl! You broke our marriage!"

"You broke it first! Two years ago when you met that slut! You may have not gone for it like teenagers but you ruined my trust!"

"You have a lot of nerve! Leave…now" Ken said in a furious tone.

"Mark my words Kenshin, if I don't get what I want, I am going to ruin your career and that little girl's future. Do you really want that?"

"I haven't lied"

"A rumor is the only thing that it takes…believe me" Beryl said leaving Ken's office.

Ikuko was just finishing pouring Beryl's drink and was about to go and give it to her when she felt little Kitty pushing her legs making her loose her balance and throwing the drink to the floor.

"Jesus Christ girl, can't you even do that right?" Beryl said approaching and gathering her children to leave the Lit Department. Ikuko rushed to the kitchen's sink and grabbed a wet towel so she could clean up the floor. As she was cleaning up she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Serena?" said a masculine voice.

She exclaimed loudly as she returned from her dream.

"Hey, are you ok?" Sapphire asked to her. Serena seemed a bit lost

Serena saw into the blue eyes of the person who, may I say rather abruptly, woke her up. She knew who he was; he was the best art student the Academy had ever seen in the longest of times. He was also an exemplary student when it came to the study and mastery of the sciences. He was particularly gifted in Math and for that reason he was a very sought after tutor.

"Yes, I'm fine" Serena said taking into her hands her jacket and unrolled it and proceeded to hanged it on her backseat.

"Good" Sapphire said taking the seat in front of her.

"So…Algebra" Serena said taking out her books and notebooks.

"Yeah… I read your transcript and let me tell you, you've done huge progress with your last tutor"

"Really?"

"Yeah, look, you've got a B+ on your last practice test. This means that you know the stuff, you just need to practice a hell lot more and have more confidence" Sapphire said.

"More confidence, huh? Well, that's going to need a lot of work then?"

"How come? I saw the pictures in Variety this morning, you have the confidence to walk in front of all those people but you don't have the confidence to do a silly test. Wait, did I say something wrong?"

Serena was banging her head on the table. "I'm on Variety too?" She exclaimed as she crossed her arms in the table and rested her head there.

"You didn't know? Sorry if that's a bad thing, but you seemed to be everywhere today"

"This is horrible" Serena said still with her arms crossed and her head down.

"So what happened exactly, the article didn't seem to be very accurate?" Sapphire inquired.

"Of course it wasn't accurate Sapphire. They are tabloids, that's what tabloids do, they ruined people's lives!" Serena said, coming to life from her previous position all of the sudden.

"Ok, ok, ok. No need to take it out on me" Sapphire said pulling out some practice sheets that he had printed on his computer the previous day. "Here, let's start with this one" Sapphire said pushing the practice sheet into Serena's workspace. She took the practice and started to concentrate so she could solve it.

5(-3x - 2) - (x - 3) = -4(4x + 5) + 13

As she was busy finding her "exes" she noticed that Sapphire took out another book as well. This particular book had nothing in writing and he was very concentrated drawing in it.

"You finished?" Sapphire asked. Serena blushed a bit as he saw her staring at him. She nodded and showed him her answer. "0, that ok, please go on" he said but Serena couldn't get her eyes off his drawing, it seemed too familiar somehow.

"That's me, isn't it?" Serena asked, now standing up and hovering by his side so she could get a good look at it.

"Well, I found interesting your bone structure and features…she looks like you but I can assure you that it isn't you, she is just… she is something I like to work from time to time"

Serena snatched the book from Sapphire's grip and started to look at it. It was beautiful.

"I'm honored Sapphire. How is it called?"

"The princess of the Moon, but I told you that it isn't you…" Serena smiled and returned him his book.

"That's ok… and feel free to make me your muse anytime that you need me too" Serena said returning to her seat and winking at him.

"It isn't you" Sapphire said desperately.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever I believe you, but so you know? My nose is way smaller than that" Serena said pointing at the drawing.

"It is not you!"

"Sure and that hair style is really popular in today's teens"

"Well, why do you wear it then?"

"It…frames my face and it makes me different…" Serena said touching her buns.

"Well…they just caught my attention, it' no big deal" Sapphire said "I don't see you focusing on the practice"

Serena smiled and continued with the rest of her problems.

By the end of those two hours Serena had successfully got into Sapphire's nerves "n" number of times and had completed 25 correct problems.

As soon as her tutoring finished, Sapphire agreed to walk her to her next class, that would have been nice if they could have skipped the rumors as they walked by.

"Oh my God! It's Serena! Serena! Oh my God! Would you take a picture with me?" one of the girls in the cheer squad practically screamed at Serena as she run to her with her phone's camera.

"No! Of course not! What's the matter with you, you freak?" Serena said to the girl and ran to her class. In that moment she totally understood why some celebrities hated the attention; all with the obvious exception of the Kardashian family.

The girls never left her side for the rest of the day and by the end of rehearsal…in which both Mr. and Mrs. Lambert were cracking every joke in the book about models, Serena discovered that Annaleigh had arranged for a car to pick her up from school. She discovered when she got home that the car was hired because of the zillion paparazzi camping in front of her house. Thankfully Mina, Lita, Rei, Sammy and Elena came with her in the car (yes, it was a big car) so, the media had a hard time pointing at six different directions. Plus it didn't help for them that Serena kind of "borrowed" another wig from the costume department…this one a mid length, brown one…kind of a "Rachel" but without the bunch of highlights.

Once in her house everybody just chilled. Serena and Lita were busy in the kitchen helping Ikuko out while Rei and Mina battle against Sammy and Elena in Super Mario Galaxy. Mina was in a particular good mood, no Annaleigh meant the lead for her.

Time passed very quickly everybody had to leave. Ken gave everyone a ride to their house and soon he was back, but the moment he came back home, he was rambling about those insistent people.

Serena didn't know what else to say to her parents… everything had been so unexpected. I mean, how was Serena going to assume that her little misunderstanding was going to be such a big deal to the press? Her parents, the cool dudes that they were, understood her completely. Well sort off, since she was already grounded for the rest of the term there wasn't much yelling to do.

Ken was only glad that his sweet little angel wasn't been hurt any further… I mean… hurt any worse. Or maybe not.

Listening at the news that night was a real nightmare. Everyone, not only Access Hollywood, E! News and the Daily Ten were featuring the news…CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News, even Nancy Grace. Everyone had something to say about her.

The nighttime show hosts were also eating them alive, not only Serena, Darien and Seiya as well. And speaking of Seiya, were was he?

Truth was that Darien had had another little talk with him that day.

"What is this shit that I've been transferred again to another class?" Seiya said barging in the school's Headmaster waiting room, where his assistants and secretaries were. Darien was there and so, he, with all the calmness that he could mastered, went to him and said: "Do you really think that I'm going to leave you anywhere near her again?"

"It's not your call to make" Seiya said

"Like hell it is!"

"She is not your girlfriend! Where is she by the way? Oh yeah! Setsuna has a big mouth when she is angry"

"Listen to me you little shit; stay away from her and you stay away from trouble"

"Bite me" Seiya said

"Don't tempt me" Darien answered.

"Hey, hey. Guys is everything alright?" Heather, one of the secretaries asked to them

"Yeah, it's super" Seiya said putting on his shades and walking away from the waiting room.

"What was that about?" Heather asked Darien.

"Nothing important, I hope" Darien said.

Sure, Darien could hoped. But things didn't exactly go any better by the end of the week.

Seiya had decided to release a statement where he pretty much was confessing his undying love to Serena and begged for her forgiveness. Serena, of course, didn't have much to say but a "no-comment" on her behalf. That happened on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Seiya was practically stalking her everywhere she went…so much so, that he had somehow convinced Mr. and Mrs. Lambert to be part of the school play. Darien didn't seem to like that very much, but since his academical record was being studied under the microscope, he couldn't kill him…at least not yet.

He was still very confused towards his feelings for Serena and decided to avoid her until he realized completely if he wanted to destroy her or be with her.

On Thursday, the camping paparazzi started to give up by the lack of scoop and on Friday, things got a little bit more complicated…for Serena at least.

Darien looked for her after the rehearsal and so he decided to walk her home.

"Listen, I need to tell you something" Darien said as they were walking.

"Ok, let's hear it" Serena said.

"Annaleigh called me this morning"

"Oh… is she ok?"

"Yeah…she said that the audition went great"

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Serena said with an enthusiastic air, but Darien didn't responded immediately.

"Hey, can I come over your house this afternoon?" Darien said.

"When? Like now?"

"Yeah, we could watch a movie or something" Darien said.

"Well…sure, I guess that will be cool" Serena said, not been able to hide her optimistic smile.

They watched "Love Actually" together. He held her hand during the entire movie, even when Hugh Grant was dancing.

He said goodbye after dinner, leaving Serena to go and get ready to bed. As she exited her bathroom wearing her white nightgown, all clean and vanilla scented, she entered her room and closed her door.

She really didn't know why, maybe was the breeze coming from her balcony that gave him away, but she came to the opened windows and there he was, resting on the veranda, enjoying the cold wind.

"I thought you left" Serena said.

"Why? Aren't I welcomed here?"

"It's passed ten"

"I know"

"So?"

"So?" Darien said and Serena smiled, enjoying the cold wind.

(If you don't go and find "Secret" from Marrons 5 right now, you won't get the scene, go now!)

* * *

Ikuko opened the door of her apartment and found Ken there. She invited him and they opened a bottle of wine.

Ken was seating on the couch while Ikuko was seating of the floor. She was really anxious. This was the first time they saw each other after Ken's divorce had finalized and the scandal at Brown had passed.

Since Beryl was not able to get what she wanted during the negotiations she full field her promise and started the rumor that Ken had started an affair with his student. He personally came to the Literature Department Committee and told the whole truth, about how his marriage had failed and that Miss Ishikawa had nothing to do in the matter. Little did his efforts did, since they asked him to resign his position. The moment Ikuko found out, she went as well to the Committee and told them about the huge mistake they were making. They asked her about what her intentions were by defending her professor and then, she couldn't answer. Letting tears fall from her face she simply said that they were making a big mistake.

Next morning she went to her student advisor and told her that she was dropping out of school.

But that night, here they were, Ikuko on the floor and Ken on the couch.

He pulled her up and started dancing (queue the music), slowly…very slowly.

He moved his hands from her sides to her back bringing her closer to him and kissed her neck and moved all the way up to her lips.

Ikuko moved things to her bedroom and pushed Ken to her queen sized bed. She stranded his lap and felt a chill through her entire body as Ken pealed her from her white satin dress. She moved to kiss his neck and then played with the buttons of his shirt while she unbuttoned them.

They kissed for hours until dawn, completing each other, loving each other. All the long wait had been worth it. They loved each other.

They watched the sunrise together just like a much younger couple was doing on a certain balcony almost fifteen years later.

He had his arms surrounding her so he could protect her from the chilly wind, she was battling against a much demanded sleep, but even though he knew better than to be there when he "loved" someone else, he couldn't just let her go.

This was their little secret…

_Watch the sunrise  
Say your goodbyes  
Off we go  
Some conversation  
No contemplation  
Hit the road_

__

Car overheats  
Jump out of my seat  
On the side of the highway baby  
Our road is long  
Your hold is strong  
Please don't ever let go oh no

I know I don't know you  
But I want you so bad  
Everyone has a secret  
But can they keep it  
Oh no they can't

Driving fast now  
Don't think I know how to go slow  
Where you at now  
I feel around  
There you are

_Cool these engines  
Calm these jets  
I ask you how hot can it get  
And as you wipe of beads of sweat  
Slowly you say "i'm not there yet!"

* * *

_

Thanks guys! I love you so much_, _it's been a wonderful year and I have learned a lot from your reviews, so I really hope that you have enjoyed the ride so far. Not much left, so please enjoy was is left and tell me what would you rather read next, the sequel or something else

XOXO


	24. Chapter 24

No, I haven't fall from the face of the Earth...not yet at least. I've just had some crappy weeks. Sorry about that... but since I realized that I was kind of living my own version of this particular "SerenaXDarien" story I kind of had to make some changes in my life...nothing mayor... jut trying to lay down on the carbs...if you don't count the cake I'm about to eat.

Hope you like this one, I re-wrote it like a zillion times, each time dummer than the last one. By I guess I'm happy with this chapter...had to cut on the story like half the thing I wanted to happen because if I did, then this thing would be like 300 thouand chapters long... and sorry too for not answering your lovely b-day wishes but then again, these has been some particularly crappy weeks.

Let's focus on what's good, right?

Review, please

* * *

Chapter 24

The awful truth

"So, why are you so mad with her?" Darien asked Serena, they were both talking in the roof. This had become their favorite place to hang out between classes since the roof's veranda was now surrounded and enveloped by an infinite quantity of morning glory, thanks to a little project that got accepted for the Gardening Club while Annaleigh was still in town. Remember? She kind of forged Darien's signature? But forging someone's signature could happen to anyone. Right?

"She didn't tell me, I had to find out from Yaten, who btw, still hates me for no good reason" Serena said getting sadder by the minute.

"You, hating the guts of his baby brother wouldn't have anything to do with it" Darien asked.

"That's not a good enough reason" Serena said decisively.

It had passed eight weeks since the first time that Darien had spend time with Serena on her balcony. It had become a habit for themselves to always, no matter the weather, no matter the hour, to at least spend an hour or two in each other's company, just with each other, together, alone, doing absolutely nothing else but to listen each other's thoughts.

"So, you are mad because she didn't tell you not because she is leaving" Darien said from the bench in which he was sitting, reading his Advanced Biology text book.

"I am happy for her, I mean, that's what she wants. She has always wanted to be a great star. Who am I to stop her from being who she wants to be?" Serena said, her head lying softly on Darien's lap, the rest of her body lying comfortably on the same bench.

"You are the worst liar ever" Darien said in a low voice.

"I heard that" Serena said pouting, pushing Darien's text book forwards, annoyed by the comment.

"As I meant it" Darien said closing his book. "There, I finished" he said and sighed as he finished reading a very long chapter on cellular composition. He drifted his sight to her eyes, he smiled. "Move" he demanded in a cheery voice.

"You are no fun" said Serena, moving her head from his lap. She stood up from the bench, and turned around and came slowly towards Darien. As he saw the slow and thought movements she was doing, he remained completely mute, knowing all too well what was passing through the girl's mind. Darien swallowed. Serena then, bent her left knee so she could put it right next to Darien's right leg; she did the same with her right one. She pushed her body towards and moved it down so she was now sitting on Darien's lap.

"I have to confess that this is exactly what I had in mind when I asked you to move" Darien said showing his smirk.

"Was it now?" Serena said finding her way to Darien's lips.

In those eight weeks a lot happened. Once in a Monday rehearsal, Mina was absent because she had a dentist appointment she couldn't miss and so, since there was no understudy for the understudy, Mr. and Mrs. Lambert asked Serena, against her will, to read the lines that Mina was supposed to practice that day. Darien had his opportunity right there and then. It was practically given to him in a silver platter, he could very much humiliate her in front of everyone, I mean, she was nervous, she seemed lost, she was pale, she had sweaty hands and her knees were trembling, and she had just tripped with her own shoes and had fallen flat on her face. She was about to cry but he couldn't just leave her there. He walked through all the laughing faces and offered her a hand. He knew right there and then that he could forgive her anything, everything.

They had become really close during those two months, Darien had finally let his guard down and let Serena in and Serena had fallen completely and irreversibly in love with him.

"You know? You are only going to find trouble if you keep doing that" Darien said as their lips parted each others.

"But you are so much more fun now" Serena said closing the distance once again but not daring to touch his lips just yet. She came impossible close to him but she simply stood there, tempting him with her intoxicating sent of cherries and vanilla. She opened her mouth a little bit more and then moved to his ears where she whispered: "And I'm dying for more" words that simply melted Darien's control over his impulses. He grabbed her by her slim waist and delicately moved his hands down so they could make contact with the most creamy and impossibly soft skin. Darien thanked again whoever designed the summer uniform, the skirts where impossibly short and since Serena was in such a position, the ruffles of her skirt rose up on her thighs. Darien's hands remained massaging her exposed skin for a few seconds. Then he let them traveled the sides of her body until he kept them on both sides of her face. Darien felt the thrill and chill that his hands made on Serena's body. It amused watching her reactions with each touch and each kiss. Her body reacted in perfect harmony with his, as if they were two perfect halves.

"Stop playing with fire" He said lifting her up and sitting her by his side. He stood up from the bench before Serena thought of another way to drive him crazy.

"When are going to tell her?" Serena said losing her patience.

"What?" Darien turned around to meet her furious gaze.

"When are you going to tell Annaleigh that we have… that you and I… are…"

"That you and I?" Darien asked curiously

"That you and I are clearly more than friends" Serena said standing up.

"You want me to tell that to Annaleigh or you want _me_ to tell that to myself?"

"You know what we are" Serena said.

"And I asked you for some time, Serena. There are some things that I still need to figure out"

"What things? You've seen the news Darien, she is dating some other actor, she has moved on"

"It can be a publicity stunt. They are just trying to gather attention to the new movie, that's all"

"Sure" Serena said sarcastically "And Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are just good friends… I'm curious, she told you that or her publicist did?"

"Careful Serena!" Darien warned her.

"Darien, I'm sick and tired of filling like I'm the other woman. Don't you get it? Darien, people was already assuming that I'm a home wrecker… people think that about me and my mom all the time. Please…" Serena said.

"Serena… I'm begging you for some time. It's not that easy for me, ok?"

"What's not easy? Watching how all the girls in school are throwing themselves at you? That if a guy so much as asks me the time you come out of nowhere and take me away? That if Seiya Kou talks to me…"

"Serena stop it, and please just don't mention Seiya Kou to me ok? The only good thing about him right know is that I won't get to see him for two months"

"He is my friend"

"No, just wait a minute there. I never told you that you couldn't talk to him; you were the one who stopped all together since the New York thing. Don't spin this on me"

"Then why I can't? Why I can't talk to him freely? To him or anyone else?"

"Don't be ridiculous, tell me one name" Darien demanded

"Diamond Blackmoon" Serena said seriously

"Not funny" Darien said.

"I mean it" Serena said

"I can't believe it. The guy is a creep, a pervert after what he did to…"

"After what he did to? To whom?"

Darien thought very carefully his answer "After what he did to me. It's obvious he is just back because daddy has big pockets. He is legitimate deepshit and sorry for knowing what's good for you"

"You don't get to tell who I can or can't be friends with. You are not my boyfriend, remember?"

"Serena, don't test me. I'm not a very patient person_ What do you want me to do?"

"I want you to break up with her (wow, she finally said it) I love you (double wow)"

Darien stood frozen by hearing her saying those addicting words. Involuntarily he smiled.

"Give me a little more time Serena"

"She has already moved on. She is clearly with Arthur Novak, it' so obvious, you just seem to not want to admit it to yourself, she has moved on!"

"_I_ need to move on. I need to be absolutely sure that the second we start this thing for real that you will know for sure that you are the only one in my mind. Serena, she was my first girlfriend"

"SHE WAS NOT!"

"See? That's something that still freaks me out. That you know me better that I know myself. That never happened with Annaleigh, it was a fresh start. You know everything about who I used to be. And what's worse you still hope for me to be that guy"

"I don't" Serena said in a low voice.

"Of course you do" Darien said. "Don't be fooled, I care about you, maybe more than I ever got to care for Leigh, but you need to give me more time"

Serena thought about this and as she was going to give her answer he realized that once again, she was impossibly close to Darien, lips almost touching. "No kisses"

"What?" Darien asked

"You can have all the time you want, but we won't kiss again" Serena said closing the space between us, giving Darien her one last kiss. As she was about to step away, Darien put one of his hands on her back pulling her closer to him, not letting her go. Two whole minutes passed and they step away. "No kissing" Darien agreed.

They picked up their belongings and started to walk downstairs to the main hall. Darien accompanied Serena to her locker, he, in a very polite manner held her books while she proceeded to pick up what she needed for the weekend (for once she was doing it on her own free will). As she was about to close her locker, Sapphire came walking from the garden holding several drawing books and art supplies. He dropped some brushes and paintings as he walked to the hallway. Serena decided to help him and so, she walked to where he was bending down to pick them up.

"I'll help you" she said as she came near him

"Oh, hey Serena. Thanks!" Sapphire said juggling more things on his arms.

"Not at all" Serena said picking the brushes and paintings up and giving some of them back to Sapphire. "I see you have decided to participate in the contest"

"Yeah…can't seem to concentrate though. Are you competing as well?" Sapphire asked.

"I was thinking about it, but I haven't got a clue what to draw" Serena said "Plus, everyone knows you are going to win"

"Oh, shut up. You are better than you think" Sapphire said while Darien approached them both with a very steady and slow walk.

"Thanks. And do you a least know what to you want to draw?" Serena asked.

"Remember what I have been sketching for some time now? During our lessons" Sapphire asked.

"Yes" Serena assured "You were drawing me"

"I wasn't…" Sapphire started to say immediately.

"Ok…" Serena said

"Itwasreallysillyanyway, I think I'lltrowthosedrawings, theyarnogoodanway" Sapphire said taking the rest his stuff from Serena's hands. He said so in a very urgent manner. Almost impossible to understand what he was saying.

"What?" Serena asked again, not giving Sapphire his stuff back. "Don't throw them away! You are really good. Scratch that, you are great" Serena said with a big smile, touching Sapphire's hand, making him blushing scarlet red.

"Tha _thanks" he gulped, took his things and proceeded to leave.

"You staying away from that one too" Darien said.

"Shut up" Serena said punching his arm. "Walk me home?" Serena asked wetly all of the sudden.

Darien sighed, he couldn't say no, so he walked her home.

As Darien was walking Serena to her house he carried her books and talked to her about how exited he was on his new class. Serena also talked about how exited she was about this sleepover; she missed hanging out with her friends, they were going to help Mina pack for her trip to Hollywood, where, she along with the Three Light were going to film a movie. Not "Camp Rock" kind of movie or "High School Musical" it was more like "Hairspray"since they were doing the re-make of "Grease".

"It's ok to miss her" Darien said once he notice that her mood swung for the low.

"Yeah…" Serena said drifting her sight to anywhere else but his eyes.

"Hey, how about if I pick you up in the airport, have brunch and then go back to my house and have a movie marathon?" Darien suggested.

"Really, you want to pick me up in the airport?" Serena asked excitedly.

"Sure, just text me whenever you want me to pick you up" Darien said returning Serena's books since they were standing right in front of her house.

"Where you'll be this weekend?" Serena asked as Darien passed along her stuff.

"I think I'll go hang in the Crown for a while and then home, gotta' keep studying"

"Ok…then I think we'll see each other on Sunday"

"Hey, where does Mina live?" Darien asked as he watched Serena open the front gate of her house.

"71304 on Cherry Grove" Serena said.

"Hey…that's…"

"Yeah, right around your corner" Serena said with a smile.

"So if you want to stop by and say 'hey' you know I'll be…"

"Right around the corner" Serena finished and left him with her smile.

Serena was busy packing her stuff for the sleepover while listening to her radio. She was listening one of those "genius" lists that itunes does for you. She started with "Westlife" so, she was listening the British Pop mix.

Pj's, undies, sneakers, sweater, pants, tops, all kind of beauty products and of course her bubblegum pink bunny sleepers. She went downstairs and asked her father to give her a ride. And if you were wondering how is it that she, being grounded until the end of the term, could go out again… well turns out that Ikuko does horribly making punishments stick. She kissed her daughter goodbye and gave her two boxes. One full of recently baked fudge brownies with little pieces of Sneakers on them. The other one full of Mina's favorite peanut butter cookies.

As Serena went on the car with her father she was thinking about her new friendship with Darien. She had achieved what she wanted, right? She was friends again with the boy of her dreams, that old friend that she missed so much. (friends…sure… in some sense they were friends) Was he the same friend that she missed? No, but maybe he just needed time to be that endearing and charming self that he once was. Or maybe, he couldn't, or even worse, he wouldn't. But really, did she really mind him being as he is. Of course not, but she wondered whether she liked him for who he was or who he once was. What was he really? Funny and incredibly brilliant. Yes, old Darien was sweet, but new Darien could be too, once he felt confident and had a fair amount of trust on the other person, he was absolutely caring. Serena also thought that at this point it could be perfectly acceptable for him to have intimacy issues and it was even more perfectly acceptable for him to have trust issues with her, I mean she was a very important element in his past… not to count in the last events in his past in which he still didn't know how exactly she fitted in.

"We are here sweatheart" Ken said, parking his car in front of Mina's house. "You be careful, now. And call if anything happens"

"Thanks Dad, I will" Serena said kissing her father goodbye. She opened the car door and step outside from it. She took her stuff from the back seat and then she walked to Mina's front door, carrying her bag and two boxes of delicious goodies.

Before she got the chance to ring Mina's bell, Mina opened her door and threw herself into Serena's arms in a very long hug.

"Thanks for coming" Mina said.

"Of course. Here, mom baked your favorites" Serena said handling over the two boxes that she was carrying.

"Peanut butter? Your mom is brilliant!" Mina said excitedly.

Mina took Serena to her room where Lita, Amy and Rei where already helping Mina pack for her trip. Lita was in charge of beauty products, Rei was in charge of outfits and Amy was in charge of organizing a schedule where Mina was going to be able to deliver her homework and study for her exams as well as train and learn lines and the occasional shopping spree.

"Leave your things in the floor" Mina said and Serena did as instructed. "You and I are going to be in charge of entertainment. I'm updating my ipod, and you can help me making lists"

"Cool" Serena said.

"Hey, what's with you? You are awfully quiet" Mina said.

"It's nothing" Serena said sitting on Mina's desk and turning on her computer so she could get started on her assigned task.

"It's always something whenever you say it's nothing" Mina said.

"It's really nothing serious. Everything is great with mom and dad, thank the Lord people are talking about Lindsey Lohan and I'm no longer news…I really think she is going to end up in jail. Seiya called last night and apologized for the ninth time this week, which is kind of a record in the "dialing it down" department"

"Yeah, I might have mentioned that he may have been pushing it too hard…you know, dedicating songs in national television and all" Lita said, packing in different Zipploc bags Mina's make-up.

"Don't make me remember that. God, it was so embarrassing" Serena said clicking on the itunes icon on Mina's mac.

"I thought it was kind of sweet" Mina said

"Mina, trust me, if a guy you can't stand sings to you "Please forgive me" on national television you wouldn't think it's sweet or cute or remotely funny" Serena said.

"Maybe you should forgive him" Amy suggested.

"Yeah, sure, like that's happening in this lifetime" Serena said to herself.

"Serena, no one should be punished for loving someone. And at least you are lucky enough is Seiya Kou" Mina said. But the remark annoyed Serena…'No one should be punished for loving someone' that sounded awfully familiar.

"That's exactly my problem. He knows me! He should have known better..." Serena said not sure if she referring to Seiya anymore. Maybe she wasn't mad at him…maybe she just needed to be mad at someone. "What he did, calling my parents in the middle of the night was completely unjustified!"

"He was worried about you" Amy said

"He was jealous that I was there with Darien. If I was there alone other entirely different story would have happened. And maybe it was for the best that he called, now I know better than to trust him" (again, not sure who is she really referring to)

"Serena!" the girls exclaimed

"I can't trust him; I can't be his friend if all he is going to want is something more. Friendship doesn't work that way." Serena said, again, not really thinking of Seiya at all.

"Well, you are the expert, aren't you?" Rei asked her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Serena asked back.

"That you know all about good friendships, right? You are best friends with Darien Shields and now you get special treatment by all our teachers, not to mention the rest of the Faculty. 'Look it's Serena, Darien's _friend_. Let's all bow and make things happen for her'" Rei said bowing in mockery.

"Rei, stop it" Amy said.

"No, let her finish. She is dying to" Serena said. (BTW, at this point Serena hadn't told the girls the real length of her friendship with Darien… but I guess you guys have already figured that out)

"You are telling me how friendship works, right? So you, looking at Darien with sad puppy eyes, wanting with all your heart for him to ditch Annaleigh, that's friendship, right?" Rei continued.

"That's not fair Rei, you know that. You know how much I care about Leigh…" Serena started saying.

"Oh, God! I almost forgot, that the two of you make the poster for hypocrisy. You two love to claim that you love each other and the second one does something unexpected you can't wait to destroy each other's lives, right?"

"She has done nothing!" Serena yelled.

"But you have!" Rei yelled back. Serena bit her lower lip.

"And honestly Serena, I can't blame Annaleigh. You actually want to steal her boyfriend… and let me tell you, hang in there, cause you might accomplish it"

"Rei, stop it" Lita said in an angry voice.

"Far worse, you won't even admit to yourself that you…" Rei started saying.

"What?" Serena asked "That I love him?" She continued "Is that what you are so desperate to know Rei? If I love Darien? Let me ask you something? What are you most mad about? That Darien likes me, that Darien has kissed me or that even if he ends up out of his relationship he wouldn't even notice that you exist? Or maybe is the fact that the one guy you are never going to get may actually be interested in me" Serena asked.

Rei reminded completely quiet.

"On that note, I think I'll go for a walk" Serena said, walking next to Rei and Lita and heading to the door of Mina' bedroom.

"Serena, wait" Mina urged.

"I'll just go around the block" Serena said hurriedly as she exited Mina's room.

Serena was pacing in front of the of the Shields's apartment in the 22nd floor of the Luxury Apartments in 10th City. She was thinking whether or not it was a good idea to talk to Darien. As she decided to ring the bell Sylvia opened the door and both her and John walked outside their apartment.

"Serena! What a surprise sweetie!" Sylvia said. (Serena became a frequent flyer during that last months on the Shields's home, just like Darien had become on her own house)

"Are you looking for Darien?" John asked.

"Are you two going out tonight?" Sylvia asked.

"I am actually staying over a friend's house. It's close by and I just wanted to say 'hi' to Darien. That's ok, right?" Serena asked to Darien's aunt and uncle.

"Of course sweetie. Stay as long as you want. John and I are heading out to grab some dinner. Why don't you stay over?" Sylvia asked.

"That's ok Mrs. Shields, I am not staying for long" Serena said.

"Sweetie, how many times do I need to tell you not to call me Mrs. Shields. Call me Sylvia"

"Ok" Serena said shyly but with a smile nevertheless.

John opened the door further so she could come in.

"He is in his bedroom" John said before closing the door.

"Thanks!" Serena said, waving good-bye.

John closed the door and Serena started heading towards Darien's bedroom. From the small hallway that connected the bedrooms with the living room Serena managed to hear some noises. She stepped further into the hallway and she could distinguish Darien's voice. He sounded upset.

"That is ridiculous, what makes you think that?" Darien said angrily over the phone. Serena approached further and further his bedroom door. His door was barely open, leaving the smallest of gaps, from where Serena was hearing just one side of the conversation.

"Do I now? I need to have a better reason to speak to you?" Serena started to tremble by the sound of Darien's furious allegations. By the sound of it, he was furious with the person on the other side of the speaker phone.

"Don't, don't do that. Don't change facts, I haven't done nothing and you know me better than to begin something with her… No, it's not like that and you know it. Who told you that?" 'Begin something with her?' Serena thought, who he was speaking of? Her? (duh)

"You have your own vendettas I have mine" 'Vendettas?'

"I know perfectly well what I'm doing… Isn't that nice? That's just priceless!" He said banging something against, what it sounded like his closet door. "Could you stop please" He said suddenly with a calmer voice. "Please, just listen to me. You know perfectly well that I have never seen it like a sacrifice. I'll do it again if I have to. Why? Because I love you" In that instant Serena saw the receiver that was hanging in the wall opposite to her. It was so simple and as if a strange force was moving her she took the phone and started hearing the conversation.

"I love you too" said the voice of Annaleigh who appeared to be very anguished at the moment. "But not that kind of love Darien. I mistook it three years ago, I can't keep doing this to you all over again."

"I don't know what you are talking about" Darien said.

"You know very well what I'm talking about" Annaleigh said. "Remember that I have always known whether or not you are lying to me. You love her. And that's exactly what I've been meaning for you to realize all these long"

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Darien yelled "I do not love her, I never have and I never will!"

Serena shed a single tear once she heard him yelling this unfortunate truth. She brought her hand to her mouth so neither Darien or Annaleigh could hear her sob.

"You are lying again" Annaleigh said calmly.

"Is that why you cheated on me? Because you thought that I stopped loving you?" Darien asked.

"What?"

"Remember when you said that you could always tell when I was lying, you have a tell as well. You slept with him, didn't you? With that Novak guy, right?"

"How can you blame me from such a thing?" Annaleigh said, sad but not with a confrontational tone.

"You thought that if I found out I could finally let you go, didn't you?" Darien asked.

"What do you care? As far as I'm concerned, you and I have been through for over two months" Annaleigh said. "If I decide to screw senseless the first person I see on the street is my God damn problem, not yours" Annaleigh said.

"Damn it Annaleigh" Darien said, "For a second there" he continued "I thought you were bluffing, but I guess you really are the bitch you claim to be" Darien finished.

"I guess I really am, aren't I?" Annaleigh said.

"This is what you wanted, right? For me to hate you with all the will I have left?" Darien said in a raspy voice.

"I'm so sorry…for putting you through so much"

"Don't you dare apologize, I already told you, I would have done it all over again if it was necessary. I love you"

The sound of those word shattered Serena's heart and as the most painful and anguished cry in the world filled her heart and ears her heard as Annaleigh asked Darien if he heard that noise as well. On her careless behavior, she forgot to hid her emotions as they left herself. She had forgot to die quietly, she forgot to cover her mouth with her hand, leaving for Annaleigh and Darien to hear her one crying sob.

Serena on her desperation hanged again the phone on the wall and started to run to the door, opened it and closed it as fast as she could. She ran all the way to the elevator and cursed for it to come to her faster. Finally the bell on the door announced that her escape had reached her, so she mount the elevator and pushed several times the "close doors" button so she will start her retreat and never come back. The doors were closing now, she was about to be free…

An approaching hand got in her way, it stopped her one escape.

"What are you doing here?" Darien asked as he saw Serena on the elevator.

.

.

.

As Serena started to scrape her own mind for an answer…a reasonable one, she started to remember the last Spring Break… where she for a short weekend had gone with Darien to the local amusement park, their first kiss since they started to hang out again.

She had just fallen to the floor because she lost her balance on her typical fashion, but this time was everything but funny since she scrapped pretty ugly her knee. Darien carried her to a nearby bench, told her to stay there for a while. She did as she was told and started to examine her knee. It was really bloody and muddy. It hurt a lot and she tried not to cry about it, but a couple of tears thought otherwise.

Darien came back soon, as he promised with a cold soda, a water bottle and a box full of napkins. He opened the water bottle and proceeded to wash her wounds and scraps. With the napkins he cleaned and dried her leg and finally with the cold soda on his hands, he pressed it where the swollenness was starting to show it's red and purple colors. They exchanged looks and like magnets they started to lean towards each other, not finding other way but to kiss.

"Serena?"

She wasn't even looking at him. "What did you hear?"

"I need to go to Mina's" Serena said quietly and like in an act of kindness, the elevator doors closed again, indifferent of Darien's attempts to stop it.

'I love you' Serena could hear perfectly clear as he was saying those words to her, not her, to Annaleigh.

He had broken up with her for over two months and still he needed time. He neglected to tell her, He made her believe that she was stealing his affections from a friend when all the while he was a free man. He was killing her, he, he, he needed to pay.

She arrived, mind overly clear to Mina's, completely pale as if she had seen a ghost. He entered Mina's room and apologized for leaving so abruptly.

"Serena?" Amy asked her.

"Yes?" she answered.

"Are feeling alright?"

"Never better" she finished.

"Serena I'm really sorry" Rei said come forward to her, giving her an honest hug.

"Don't" Serena whispered on her hair. "You have nothing to be sorry about"

* * *

Ok, not a very happy chapter...and we are all joining now the official "we want Darien to die" club but spare, he i going to suffer a lot on next chapter. Serena is going to give him a spoonful of hi own medicine...not grape flavour by the way.

If you want me to give you dirty secrets of what's coming, please write me or friend me on Facebook, I know the people who have are not complaing...I'm a loyal gift giver on those little games.

orry again for the wait, and I really hope you liked the chapter.

(And looks like we are going to have a sequel)


	25. Chapter 25

Never thought this chapter would take me so long.

Please, so you know, I just finished it, it is not like I forgot... I have been torturing myself because I hadn't had time to write. I have been so caught up in work drama and my new boyfriend who is a fan of this particular fanfiction by the way.

I am sorry, please forgive me and thank you for your constant reading, it gave me the necessary courage to keep going on ans finish this chapter. I wll start number 26 today, no excuses, and will try to have done for all of you as soon as I can.

Please enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 25

Haven't you had enough?

"I really hope you come back safe" Serena said with water in her eyes.

"I'll be back in no time, you'll see" said the person whom Serena was hugging at the gate number B 45. "I am so glad you decided to forgive me"

"Me too" Serena said through her teeth, not really wanting to say it since she really didn't mean it, but saying altogether.

"Serena, I love you. Please believe me and know that I will come back and try to win you over. Will you wait for me?" the eager person asked Serena who was now speechless due to the love confession that was just given to her. During her mute time Serena looked away from this person and started to drift her sight until she recognized that somewhere from afar her picture was being taken at the moment.

"Come back safe Seiya" she said as he was being pulled away by one of his older brothers.

Mina, all the while was saying goodbye to her other friends at the same gate. She approached Serena after hugging Rei and said: "I'll e-mail you every second I got, promise"

"Is that a threat or a promise?" Serena teased her best friend.

"Silly" Mina said and launched at her arms but then immediately stopped and said: "Looks like someone found out where we were"

Serena immediately looked over to where Mina was looking and found Darien, in all his perfect glory, wearing washed out jeans, a simple white tee, his black leather jacket and his shades. Serena was surprised that he had the guts to even show up. How dare he? After what he said two nights before? Was he for real?

As the emotions on Serena's face were becoming more and more apparent, Mina said her last goodbyes and went away with her new co-stars to sunny L.A. Serena and her friends accompanied Mina's parents as they waited until they could see Mina's plane on the air. A tear fell on Rei's cheek as she expressed how much she was going to miss their little blonde friend. Serena on the other hand, searched once again for Darien's figure in the crowd. She found him immobile against a large column by the salon's entrance. Serena started to walk on his direction, to demand what he was doing there. Suddenly a group of tourists blocked her way, when they were gone; Darien was nowhere to be found.

Serena was determined to find him, so she started to run (BTW, running on an airport is not always a good idea). Serena ran to the first terminal exit she could find, she dodged children carrying small backpacks, couples of business men attending their Blackberry's, families with crying babies and a couple of police officers as well, all to arrive to the terminal exit.

Amy, Lita and Rei were running behind her, but no matter how fast they ran, Serena always managed to ran faster than them. Serena came to the promising doors that signaled she could find behind them that certain someone she was so desperate to find.

She exited the airport and she found him immediately. He was already on his bike, helmet on; he was making the engine roar while waiting for the light to turn green. Serena walked three steps on his direction before he noticed her walking towards him. At that moment Amy, Lita and Rei exited the airport doors.

"Serena what do you think you are doing?" Rei yelled at Serena, but she didn't listen. She ran to his bike and mounted it. Darien turned his head to look at her. Serena couldn't actually see his face, but she spoke to him nevertheless.

"Aren't you going to drive?"

Darien turned his head again to look at the road, he gave her some time to grab on to him tightly and then he drove on. He exited the airport grounds and continued to drive all the way to the highway that would lead them to 10th City. Darien was driving particularly fast since he didn't want the cops seeing that he was driving with a girl without helmet on the back of his bike. He was also really nervous driving her and being extremely mad at the same time, not to mention that he felt nervous for the warmth she was emanating. All and all the drive took about 20 minutes from the airport to Serena's front gate.

She stepped down the bike and Darien noticed through the visor of his helmet that she was crying. He killed the engine off; he took off his helmet and looked at her. She turned from him before he could even talk.

"I don't get it" Serena whispered. "What is it that you are trying to accomplish? What do you want from me!" She demanded him.

"I want you to understand something" Darien said.

"I don't want to hear it and I really hope you understand that the one thing that I hate is getting played" Serena said.

"It's not like that" Darien said.

"You think that you can look for me once that she has dropped you like some piece of garbage? You think that I am some rebound girl, that now that the girl of your dreams, the one that owned your leash has finally let you go on like some sad, ugly, little puppy, that no one else wants; you think you pathetic, sad, lonely idiot, can come to me, offering nothing more than what's left? Do you really think I'm going to let myself be just your second choice?" Serena said, crying, barely able to pronounce those words that were not only hurting her but him in the process. You see, what Serena did not know was the reason why Annaleigh and Darien were having that conversation, the beginning of the conversation and the "reasons" behind Annaleigh's actions around this whole mess. For Serena, hearing what she heard two nights before meant that Darien still had feelings for Annaleigh, deep ones, ones that apparently he was not letting go as Serena had hoped.

"You killed me" Serena said.

Red-eyed Darien, who had his share of misery that weekend couldn't say a word. "You mean the world to me" he let himself say.

"Really?" Serena asked with sarcasm and cynicism. "How romantic of you to declare your love to another girl"

"Serena until recently I thought that… what I had with Annaleigh made sense, for some reason life had joined us. I thought that… that we made sense, now I know we just… can't" Darien said, trying to explain some story between the lines.

Serena remained in silent for a couple of seconds "Do you really think that I will buy anything you try to tell me again? You must be joking"

"I do love you" Darien said.

"How convenient, what made you decide that? The fact that she dumped you for someone who is really worth it?" she yelled at him.

"The fact that you are always in my head, whether I'm mad or calmed, whether I'm awake or asleep. You are all I'm thinking, all the time. Because of you… don't you see? You've become something I can't live without"

"You think you are going to whoosh me with a couple of lines you picked out of the first lame movie you saw on cable last night?" Serena asked.

"I'm telling you the truth" Darien said, Serena knew he was telling the truth, his eyes let her know he was being honest.

"What you said on Friday…"

"I was just… I called her, because, as you pointed out, it had become obvious that she had moved on, and I simply wanted to talk to her"

"You said that you could never love me. That you were better than to begin something with me. Just as a curiosity. Why Darien? Why did you even bother beginning something with me?"

"Serena, first I wasn't planning talking about you and me just yet with Leigh. We started talking about something else, your topic… I know I'm an idiot, but I wanted to know first if she still felt something for me. I wasn't … if you wanted me to bring up to Annaleigh our thing, I said that… that we… It wasn't my intention. I did said it but I didn't mean it"

"What? Do you really think that I will buy such a lame excuse? Do you really think that this will fix things between us? Darien, you killed me. You said to her that could never love me!" Serena said with an amount of anger building up in her.

"Serena, what exactly did you hear?"

"You said it, you should remember" Serena said harshly.

"I don't think I know what you are talking about. What I was talking about with Annaleigh was something completely different. I think you should know that… oh what that hell, I'm telling you anyways… I was talking about her pregnancy"

(Moment to say: OH MY GOD!)

A tear opened her crying, no sobbing this time, these tears were just lovely waterworks that she couldn't control.

"It was yours, wasn't it?" Serena said in a whisper

"What? No! It's not what you think. Serena please let me explain, please, you have to hear what I am saying" Darien said trying to reach out for her.

"Don't you dare touch me! Get out!" She said harshly.

"Please…listen to me"

"I want you out of my life for good. I made the mistake to think that becoming a part of your life was going to give me something back, something that I lost on that accident, my best friend now you even have vendettas against me, what was your plan? To make me fall in love with you?… Get out of here"

"Vendettas against you? Serena…" Darien begged.

"Before I called my father, leave" she demanded.

"Is this what you really want? You want me out of your life?" Darien asked.

"I never want to see you ever again"

"I guess you made up your mind. Is that why you were talking again to Seiya? Are things good between the two of you again? Am I going to read about your life now on Seventeen Magazine?" Darien said harshly as well. Serena walked right in front of him and slapped him.

"Don't you dare say anything to me ever again? You don't have the right to talk to me"

"Who does? Dominic Colton? Seiya Kou? Sapphire Blackmoon? Mike Lewiston? Derek Bass? Diamond Blackmoon? All the drooling class of second years that are walking behind you like if you were some kind of vision? The same bastards that can't wait to get in your pants"

"Jealous? I never thought Darien Shields could let himself feel such frivolous things" Serena said.

"I guess you don't know me that well. It wasn't mine Serena. She has kept it a secret, she doesn't want anyone to find out"

"I don't believe you" she said "Get out" she finished saying.

"I do love you" he whispered.

"GET OUT" She yelled.

"You are making a mistake" he said turning away from her, going to his bike.

"You said you love me? Just wait until tomorrow. I'm going to give you a real treat"

"Why does is it so hard for you to believe me?"

"Because you think I'm some kind of idiot. You think I'm going to believe anything you tell me. I heard you two nights ago. I heard you talking to her and saying how you don't love me, never did and never will, now, respect the fact that I want you far, far away from me"

"My pleasure" He said putting on his helmet and starting his engine. He drove off furious.

Serena stepped into her house; she opened her front door and went directly to the kitchen. Opened the fridge and came upon a full glass of water. She drank it in one gulp. She leaned on the counter and then grabbed the phone that was on the wall and, trying to remember as hard as she could dialed a certain number, she was hoping it's owner might help.

"Hi, it's me Serena. I was hoping we could talk."

* * *

That next Monday Darien wanted to die. Since the first period was supposed to be for studying and stuff, he decided to go look for Serena in the Algebra cubicle. He didn't found her there. But he was so desperate to find her, he wanted to talk to her, clear the air, tell her everything, and tell her everything about Annaleigh, his side of the story.

He found her alright.

At first he thought that it must had been some kind of joke, but it wasn't. Then he thought that it was definitely a dream, or a nightmare, for her to be kissing some other guy…

Darien found Serena in her locker kissing no other than Dominic Colton. Serena seemed to be so into to it that it made Darien feel sick instantly, and a new factor to the weird pain attacks… at the same time he saw her kissing him, the extreme pain went to his brain. He stumbled to a near locker and he touched his head. An incessant feeling started to upset his stomach and he couldn't help but feel that he was going to pass out.

Darien flew to a near restroom. With difficulty he reached a stall and proceeded to empty his stomach. After he was finished he went to a sink and washed his hands and face. He saw his reflexion on the mirror. He was pale, like he had seen a ghost; he was out of breath, like he had just finished a marathon on an empty stomach and he was sweating cold.

He leaned again on the sink and took a big gulp of breath. After that, he saw himself again in the mirror, but this time something that had never happen before did, instead of the face he recognized, the one of an 18 year old young man, he saw a little boy in his place.

He shared the same shade of midnight blue in his eyes, but the ones of the boy looked afraid. Darien, with the blurry vision he thought the sweat and cold was causing, he tried reaching out for the boy, to see if he was real, or just a product of his imagination. But he couldn't find out, he passed out before he could touch the mirror.

* * *

Dominic and Serena kept to their snuggling. They remind completely ignorant to what Darien was passing through. Dominic, he couldn't be held responsible, he was just too happy to be kissing Serena, now, the most talked about girl in school. And that was the thing about kids in high school right? It's not really about being in love and all that bull, is all about being cool and to make other kids "respect" you.

Serena, well… she knew now that the most stupid thing she could have ever done was to compare Dominic with Darien. It was like saying nonfat yogurt tastes the same as real ice cream…they don't.

Just as Dominic was daring to bring Serena closer to him was when she exited the kiss. She saw the look in his face, that Johnny Bravo look of a guy when he thinks he is the most awesome person in the planet just because he had finally kissed the girl he had been chasing for months; no matter if she is trying not to die of disgust… the guy feels like Superman.

Serena suddenly started to feel the compulsion to smack the look out of Dominic's face, that or puke all over him so he wouldn't smile any longer.

"I have Algebra, you should go… now" Serena said as she closed her locker and left Dominic standing. At least… the Johnny Bravo look went away.

Serena reached at last the Algebra cubicle, 15 minutes late, if I made add.

"You are late" Sapphire said. "15 minutes if I made add. I don't know who you think you are, but with your grades you should really consider at least having a tiny interest in your tutoring classes! Having your tongue down a guy's throat isn't going to help"

"Mind your own business Sapphire, I'm here alright! Plus, I aced my last test, so don't give me that attitude and stop behaving like a complete bitchy drama queen" Serena answered him putting her things on the table. Sapphire gave her a surprised look, as if Serena had just let slip a big secret.

"How…how do you…how come… how could you possibly know, I mean… not even …I, I , I just" Sapphire blurred.

"How what?" Serena asked.

"Nothing" he said quickly.

Serena simply shook her head and started to take out her Algebra stuff.

"I do have something to tell you… well actually ask you" Sapphire said.

"Shoot" Serena said.

"You can't tell anyone, I mean, my life would literally end if anyone found out"

"Oh my God, just tell me" Serena exclaimed.

"I like someone and I need you to find out if that someone likes me back" Sapphire said with optimal intensity coming out from his eyes and mouth. He came closer to her, to purr his little secret into her ear. He said it.

"WHAT?" She asked.

"You can never say what I just said again, do you understand?" Sapphire said menacingly.

"Yes, yes of course, how dumb do you think I am?" Serena asked.

"That was rhetorical, right?" Sapphire said pulling up an eyebrow.

"Hey" Serena exclaimed, hurt by the comment.

"Oh fine, whatever, you are not dumb. But I will hate you forever if you ever say anything to anyone"

"I won't" She defended.

"I need your help, I will ask my brother to posse for me, you know, for the contest. I already have this idea all planned in my head"

"I just… I think this is a terrible idea Sapphire. I know for a fact that she is pretty hung up on him"

"She is not… I know sooner or later my brother will be through with her, and she doesn't deserve that. I… I like her"

"I think you like the idea of her… but she really is just a bitch"

"Don't talk about Emerald like that!" Sapphire protested.

"I'll agree to posse with him, but I don't know if it would be any good, he doesn't like me, he hates me, you know what they did to me on that stupid rally" Serena said.

"I don't pretend that you will ever like her… she has been way too much under my brother's influence"

"You mean she is a bitch?"

"Come on Serena… ask Diamond if he really cares about her"

Serena bit her lip, she then rolled her eyes and agreed.

* * *

During her class with Sapphire, she obviously didn't notice all the fuss with Darien, how a first year found him passed out on the boy's toilet and how an Ambulance got him out, straight to the hospital with a line of girls all crying their eyes out at the sight of him and "worried" about him. Please, they were only crying because he is hot and worried of not seeing his hot ass on campus anymore.

Darien woke up a couple of hours later on the local hospital, he had already been transferred to the Surgical Floor where his aunt and uncle where talking to the attending head of his case. Darien didn't really listen until he heard the word aneurism coming out of the doctor's mouth when he really opened his eyes.

"Are you going to cut into my brain?" Darien asked.

"Darien!" "Darien!" both Sylvia and John said, running to their dear nephew.

"Darien, it's good to see that you woke up" said with a charming smile the attending physician. "Your aunt mentioned that you wanted to be a doctor, how's that coming?"

"Great… about my brain? How big is this thing?" Darien asked annoyed.

"How about I show you myself the MRI? We can discuss it." the doctor said.

"Did you already take the image?" Darien asked

"We were just going there. The nurse will come soon and take you, and then I will personally show you the results and teach you how to read the image." The doctor answered Darien as he started to leave the room.

"No offense doctor, but I have been able to read an MRI since last year, see, there are lots of things you can learn over the Internet. But I will save you some trouble, I am not having it"

"What are you talking about?" John asked his nephew.

"I am talking about that I am leaving the hospital" Darien said starting to pull out his air hose from his nose.

"What do you think you are doing, you can't leave? Darien didn't you listen, you may have a dangerous condition, if we don't take care about this now you could die" Sylvia said loudly.

"I'm calling the nurse, I think he is still upset from the incident, perhaps it would be better to sedate him" the doctor said leaving the room. Darien had already stood up from the bed and started looking for his clothes.

"I will get a court order if I have to young man" John said threading him.

"On what grounds?" Darien protested.

"You are clearly a danger to yourself" John said very seriously. Darien simply smirked.

"I'm 18 John, you are not my legal guardian anymore" Darien said.

"Like hell we are" Sylvia said.

"I may not be a lawyer but I do know I have the right to refuse medical treatment" Darien said putting on his pants.

"Not if you are depressed" John said and Darien, who was taking off his hospital gown to put back his uniform shirt, turned around and saw him. "You are clearly depressed and that is keeping you from making an informed decision"

"Good luck probing that to a judge" Darien said buttoning his shirt.

"Where are you going?" Sylvia asked desperately.

"The apartment, to grab some stuff" Darien said putting on his shoes and jacket. "Then I'm going to Andrew's" Darien said leaving his hospital room.

As he was walking, Sylvia caught up to him and put herself in front of him.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked. "Up until two days ago you were happy, I saw you, you were smiling all the time, you were making plans; you had an irrevocable will to live. Why are you doing this now?"

"I was supposed to die on that accident don't you see that? Now life gives me an aneurysm just for kicks? That was probably residual from the accident. I was meant to die there"

"Stop saying that" Sylvia said cleaning up her face from her tears. "You are alive Darien that means you are not dead"

"I've just had enough!" he said in a desperate yell. "Enough hospitals, enough lies, enough disappointment, enough making dreams that are never going to happen, enough waiting for her to forgive me" Darien said more lowly.

"Is this about… Annaleigh?" Sylvia asked putting her hands on Darien's face. That's when she saw the look on his midnight blue eyes that she had seen five years ago… a look of… hope "Serena?"

"She hates me" Darien said almost too low to hear, but gave a sarcastic smirk nonetheless.

"Darien, whatever happened, you have to know that that girl adores you to no end. She has had always. She will never be capable to hate you, she loves you" Sylvia said.

"She heard me talking to Leigh… she doesn't know that Leigh had a miscarriage two years ago. Serena doesn't believe me, and I want to destroy the son of a bitch who did that because it was all his fault"

"Then you do what John said you should do, you convince her to go to the police and file a report against him"

"I tried… she is just so stubborn… She thinks if she makes this thing public it could destroy her career. I now I can't convince Annaleigh of anything but Serena… Sylvia I can't spend another year stuck in a hospital I need to fix things… and I don't mean fix my scrambled brain. I promised."

"You come first" Sylvia said. "Get the MRI Darien, a CT, an X-ray anything. Please"

"As soon as I fix things. I promise if anything happens I'll come back"

"Darien if anything happens… it could be too late"

"The thing about aneurysms is that I am going to be fine, until I'm not. It can rupture in any second Syl." Darien said giving his aunt a kiss on the cheek, moving away from her after.

"Please don't do this" Sylvia begged.

"I will come back. Don't worry" Darien said as he walked to the elevator doors, leaving his aunt in the middle of the surgical floor on 10th City's County General Hospital.

Once in the elevator he called a girl, but he wasn't calling Annaleigh or Serena or even his friend Setsuna. We was calling a girl who shared a past with Serena, and an enemy with Darien.

"Birdie, is that you? Hi how are you? This is Darien Shields, I don't know if you remember me, we met at a game last summer, Scouts and Eagles? Yeah, I was thinking about you the other day, would you mind grabbing coffee with me?

* * *

_I know what you think... it is completely lame... I don't blame you for thinking this way, but in my defense things are clearing up, aren't they? Well... that means end is coming soon._

_Reviews are always welcomed_


	26. Chapter 26

Believe me, my delays hurt me more than you, and that is a fact. I was not able to upload a chapter for my b-day on a in the shameless attempt to beg for reviews...anyway, here you have.

This is different by the way, it's kind of darker and it presents a new character on the story.

Hope you like it.

* * *

Chapter 26

Resident Evil

Birdie Tsukino was the typical girl who had it all. She had the looks, a set of piercing blue eyes, a very slim, fit body from countless hours of cheer practice, a very beautiful, long, straight, blonde hair, a house she loved, a sister that adored her and a mother who would constantly tell her how gorgeous she was. Her house was very big; it was built specially for her family once her father's family found out his first wife was pregnant. Her mother was rich thanks to her divorce settlement so she could afford expensive couture and all the delicatessens of life itself.

She had it all but she didn't have a very nice personality to match her looks. Since she was a little child she began to appear to be a very willful, arrogant and spoiled brat from the moment her father had let her family to be with another woman. She even appeared to be in even worse temperament when she found out she was about to have two new siblings…half siblings. She had terrible tantrums when her father was around; she began to act even more terrible whenever her new sister and brother came to visit her. She would put hot sauce in their meals, hide their toys, through away their blankets or even put dead lizards inside their beds.

After a very unfortunate incident involving Serena's hair and a piece of gum, her father decided not to expose any longer his children to what obviously was Beryl's influence on Birdie. They didn't see each other much after that. Kenshin kept going on Christmas and other holidays, the girl's birthdays, he visited them as much as he could, still does, but on the long end, he realized that he belonged somewhere else.

Birdie resented her father and did all she could to call for his attention, even today Kenshin would get a ring from Beryl saying that "the girl" was out of control and it was all his fault. Birdie would cut school, party like it was 1999, flirt shamelessly with professors…if not more and she definitely wasn't a stranger to drinking and other illicit substances.

When she wasn't the bad seed of the family she spread her poison over her school as well. Cheerleader Captain, three years in a row and until last year, had won the Spirit Competition for two of those three years, until she "Bring-it" with the head cheerleader on 10th City's Academy and lost for the first time. Birdie hated her family; specially Serena for taken her father's affection, but Birdie Tsukino hated even more Emerald Green. She had taken her grand trophy and if it was Birdie's word….Emerald was going to pay.

Luckily Darien remembered that certain blonde's meltdown when she was told that she had lost. Darien was there to play against Birdie's soccer team, the East Boston Tigers. It was a rough match but eventually the Scouts won the day.

While he was celebrating with his team he saw how the blonde, who looked familiar, ran from the soccer field. Darien didn't know how but he followed her. She stopped at one of the lockers and collapsed on the floor crying. Darien approached her and asked if she was ok. She looked so similar… to a girl in his dreams it spooked him. But it wasn't her, she had different eyes… not as kind as the ones of the girl in his dreams.

They both started talking and one thing led to another and she jump up and kissed him. After the kiss finished, a very astonished Darien pulled away from her. She in exchange felt embarrassed and fled again the scene.

"I hope you at least got her number" Annaleigh said with a smile, she said approaching Darien with a smile. She who always found amusing the effect he had on women and never got jealous if, as it just happened, someone kissed against his will.

"Leigh…it wasn't… is not how it looks like" Darien said quickly.

"I know, don't worry. She was…cute" Annaleigh said.

"Crazy more like it" Darien said in return.

Annaleigh led out a laugh. "Maybe she realized she was not what you were looking for"

"Maybe" Darien said.

Darien was determined to bring Emerald and Diamond down that was why he was willing to work with someone outside his usual circle. He didn't know anything about Birdie's and Serena's relationship, blood relationship, that is. Poor Darien, so willing to work with the one person Serena couldn't stand for real.

But even if Serena found out, who was she to blame Darien for it? I mean, a month had passed since Darien had been in the hospital and rumor had it that she had been asked out by four guys since the whole school saw her locking lips with Dominic Colton, just as she wanted.

Darien would suffer from a considerable distance every time he saw a new guy coming to her locker and inviting her out. He would even suffer more next morning when he would catch them being all happy after their first date. His relief was that, as if it was programmed to happen, Serena would always pick a fight with the guy and break-up with him after the second date, usually over the school's second period. But that just left the path open for another guy to go and ask her out. Serena wasn't kidding when she said she was going to make Darien suffer.

Truth was, she hated having to date all those losers, cause that's what they were.

"Could you not order anything from page seven, I am trying to save money to buy a new video game" Eric Harrison said one Friday night.

"Oh God! You have a cat?" Louis Jackson said as he picked her up for frozen yogurt.

"Yeah sure, I spend most of my day on the computer. I even have a whole blog dedicated on the X-Files. Have you watched it? I have it now on Blue Ray" Jimmy Cooper said one day when they were at The Crown.

Just like that, as Serena dumped them, she realized the inevitable; Darien was the only one for her, the only one who was perfect.

But she didn't want him to feel like he was going to win easily. She wanted to punish him a little more.

As Serena was being asked out by Daniel Harris, a handsome boy from her English class, Serena saw proof that the end of the Earth was coming. She saw her sister with her cheerleading uniform talking to Darien Shields on his locker. Serena didn't care if Daniel was calling out to her torpedo to where they were.

"What that hell is this monster doing here?" Serena said loudly as she reached both Birdie and Darien.

Birdie turned around and with an arrogant look said: "Well hello to you too sis"

"You two know each other?" Darien asked.

"Ew" Birdie said with disgust in her tone.

"She is my sister!" Serena cried out.

"HALF Sister! Don't forget that freak!" Birdie said back

"Sisters?" Darien asked "How is that possible?"

"Her loose mother got pregnant from my dad" Birdie said with hate.

"Shut-up" Serena said.

"Birdie!" Darien called in attention.

"Don't defend me Darien. Birdie, I am not four anymore. I won't let you bully me" Serena said

"Like Darien Shields would defend you? He has too much class to even know such a train wreck like you" Birdie said.

"Oh like you are such a saint. Please I still remember daddy having to come to your rescue every time you got drunk on a party, which is a lot"

"Don't you call him that!" Birdie said.

"What's wrong Beatriz, don't like to accept the fact that your dad is with people he actually loves?" Serena asked

"You bitch. Don't flatter yourself, just because my father wanted to take responsibility from a huge mistake doesn't mean we wants to live with you. He tells me all the time he wants to move back near Kitty and me" Birdie said

"In your dreams maybe, the same place where you have friends, brains, and a better nose job" Serena said.

"Serena that's enough!" Darien called out.

"You don't get it, she put gum in my hair" Serena said furiously.

"Well, I don't have time for your melodramas today. Aren't you supposed to be accepting a date with a guy you are going to break-up with tomorrow?" Darien said as Serena pulled up her eyebrow.

"What are you jealous?"

"Darien Shields doesn't bother himself with those kinds of emotions, or isn't that what you said? If you can move on so can I" Darien said

"You are dating her?" Serena exclaimed.

"No, but if I were, it shouldn't be any of your business" Darien said.

"After all you have done to me; I can't believe you would do something like this. I won't forgive you if you ever date her"

"Please Serena, maybe Darien realized that dating washed out actresses or even tabloid plague such as you is a huge waste of time. Come on Darien, show me around campus" Birdie said taking his arm as he closed his locker.

"Darien, please" Serena called.

"Sorry Serena, I am on president duty today" and with that Darien left Serena on the middle of the hallway, completely angry and upset.

As Darien and Birdie move to the Media Hallway, Darien released himself from Birdie's arm.

"Ok, ground rules" Darien said. "If you ever insult Serena again the deal is off"

"Why do you defend her? Her mother and her are both gold-digging prostitutes!" Birdie said. "They destroyed my family"

"Serena hasn't destroyed anything!" Darien said "And as far as I am concerned Ikuko Tsukino is the best, most kind mother I have ever met. Second, no touching. We are not dating. If you don't help me pull this off then you can forget about our deal. If you really want Emerald Green to quit cheerleading, then you better give me your word"

Birdie looked at him sweetly. "Of course, I wouldn't plan it otherwise"

"Good, then go to the reporters lab, ask for Annaleigh Roberts's desk and find her recording pen. We'll meet before theater rehearsal. I have to go find Emerald."

"You better break her Darien I am not kidding…otherwise…I will call the deal off and you will have to find some other way to get this Diamond guy"

"Go Birdie!" Darien said as he left her side.

After Darien had left Birdie she went to a secluded side of campus. The practice rooms of the Music and Theater Hall, they were very quiet most of the time, since the kids who were studying music professionally used them regularly, so they needed all concentration as they could.

Darien entered carefully the private rehearsal room number 4 which he had known to be occupied by two of his most beautiful and intelligent classmates.

As he stepped inside the room he heard the unmistakable sound of a violin and the melody which was one of his favorites, a Beethoven piece.

"This room is taken" said in a rude manner the girl with the violin, a gorgeous girl with deep brown chocolate hair that reached to her shoulders and beautiful marine eyes.

"Leave" said her companion, an even ruder girl who enjoyed wearing the boy's uniform instead of the girl's one. She had short, sandy blonde hair and deep blue eyes. After she said that, she through backwards a tennis ball she was carrying in her hand, constantly throwing it up in the air and catching it at the last second. She aimed to hit Darien's face, even if she couldn't see her target properly from her position. If Darien hadn't had the reflexes of a fast panther, the ball would have probably hit him, but he caught it at the last second.

"My apologies ladies, but I come her with a business proposal that I am afraid it can't wait any longer"

"Heard that Haruka? The little prince wants to play with us?" said the girl with the violin.

"I did Michiru. And what is this proposal of yours?"

"I need to get rid of some vermin, not wanting to sound as a Quentin Tarantino movie…but I do"

"You might your target be?" said Michiru placing her violin carefully on its case.

"Two targets, one…might be more difficult than the first. And I know you want to get back at them both just as much as I do"

"I asked who" Michiru said again

"Emerald Green and Diamond Blackmoon" Darien said and Haruka and Michiru both looked at each other with surprise on her faces.

"Why?" Haruka asked.

"Is that important?" Darien asked back

"Of course it is important, if we were to destroy two lives we might as well know why" Michiru said

"If you must know same reason as you" Darien said.

"How can you possibly know?" Michiru said with anger

"Rumors travel fast in the boy's locker room." Darien said after taking a big breath of confidence.

"That bastard!" Michiru yelled throwing with anger her violin case to the wall, breaking it without chance of repair.

She started sobbing and melted to the floor where she was consoled by her friend.

"What did the rumor said?" Haruka asked Darien as she hugged Michiru on the floor.

"You should believe the worse" Darien said.

"Screw that I want to hear the whole story" Michiru said from the floor ad between tears.

Darien then started explaining that one day Diamond, after showering came to the changing room bragging about how during a party he had banged Michiru Kaioh. He in all his disgusting self, told the guys that he had successfully unfrozen the ice queen.

"That's a complete lie, we never did anything of that, but he did corner me…I had a lot to drink that night I can barely remember. Haruka and I…we had a fight and I was still upset. She was also around the party and I know she hates when I flirt around with guys. He seam easy enough. He got me to this room… we started kissing and as he tried to touch me I moved away. I couldn't do that to Haruka, I just couldn't. He got really upset, and he started to grab my arm and through me against the wall. I felt disoriented. I was so afraid of what he might do, but he never did. Haruka stopped him, and she told him that if he ever laid his hands on me he was going to pay"

"You haven't been his first victim Michiru. I want to get back at him."

"If he did something worse why not only talk to the school's principal?" Haruka suggested.

"Because she refuses to say as much"

"Why?" Michiru asked

"Same reason I guess you had for not reporting the incident. Fear of looking as something you are not. In her case…she is scared that this may hunt her for the rest of her life"

"You must love Annaleigh then, if are going through so much trouble" Michiru said, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief Haruka offered her.

"I do love her, but I am not in love with her anymore. I fell in love with someone else, and if I ever want to have a clean slate with this person, then I have to finish this unfinished business. Will you help me or not?"

"To take down that bastard? Count me in" Michiru said.

"Me too" Haruka responded as well.

Darien told them his master plan and so, they moved to the run immediately.

It was around lunch that Serena interrupted Darien from eating a delicious sandwich Sylvia had made the previous day.

"Please tell me what was going over your head when you said it's a good idea to bring home the devil" Serena said snapping open the door from Darien's rooftop, making him jump and loose his lunch.

"Serena, I didn't expected to see you here, I know my lunch didn't" Darien said gesturing to his roast beef sandwich now on the floor.

"Oh get over it, please explain Birdie, why is she here?" Serena demanded

"She is here as a reporter she wants to pursue journalism in college, and communications. She is making an investigation on high school life and the differences between private institutions like ours and a public ones"

"Can't she do that from the comfort of her own home?" Serena sighted.

"She is researching the top schools in East Boston, both ours and hers are on this area. So it just made sense for her to continue her research here" Darien said.

"You don't get it, she is really evil Darien. She made my life a living hell when we were growing up. I prefer her hours from wherever I am standing"

"Was she really that bad?" Darien asked

"She was horrible. Guess that if I were in her shoes I wouldn't even try to be nice to me, but still try to be civil. She did horrible things" Serena said still from the door. Darien said nothing in return, he only stared.

"I'm sorry" was his only replay.

"You sure there's nothing you can do to make her go away?" Serena asked still with a spark of hope in her.

"I'm sorry" he whispered again.

Serena looked at the floor, she said nothing and left.

Serena spent a lot of time thinking what it meant for her to have her eldest sister being so close to her. Even though she was supposed to pay attention during class, she spent that time drawing, not exactly romantic scenery like she was used to, she spent it drawing things she could only find in her nightmares: her sister.

Birdie used to inflict a lot of stress in Serena, even at a young age. Constantly putting her down and calling her names, Serena developed somewhat a fear for Birdie.

She draw her face, not smiling, more like an Ice Queen, sitting in a vanity chair, looking at a mirror an admiring at her reflexion. She was surprised as how accurate her drawing result.

She left class and went for the theater to start rehearsal. She missed Mina; she was the one girl she thought could understand her the most at this time. She missed Amy; her immense common sense could have helped find a solution to her troubles. She missed Lita; who just the same day had been invited to a junior cooking competition in New York and was busy back home preparing for her own trip. She also missed Rei, who had missed school to spend time with her father who had just returned from D.C., having in Boston a quick visit and will soon prepare to launch his re-election.

She missed her friends, she even found herself missing Annaleigh. Even though at times she seemed like the enemy, she had proven in the past to care for her. She always felt she could talk to her, and her older years made her wiser. She could have mastered a plan in five minutes in how to return Birdie were she belonged and never have her come back into her life. She missed her scheming abilities, but she also missed her humanity.

She put her stuff on an empty sit on the front row of the theater. She then waited patiently for the rest of the class to start cramming the place.

Serena quickly noticed that Birdie had actually entered the room; air was quickly starting to disappear from her lungs, so she started to have difficulty to breathe. She looked away just for a second and then looked back. Diamond Blackmon was also entering the room. Now that could only mean trouble. Serena knew Darien hated him for a million different reasons she didn't really understand.

After a few minutes Mr. and Mrs. Lambert came into the theater as well. Apparently they had been informed about Birdie's presence, so they actually felt more confidence and exuded this by showing more pride and smartypantyness than usual.

They saw Diamond sitting actually very close to Birdie. He was making funny remarks, making fun of the professors, the theater and cracking jokes at everyone's expense.

"Why exactly are you here Mr. Blackmoon?" said Mr. Lambert?

"Since I am out of soccer for now my student advisor advised for me to take something else" he said to Mr. Lambert with and smug expression both in his voice and face.

"Yes we have been informed of your situation and as I said to the Headmaster, we don't accept students from other specialties" Mr. Lambert said.

"Think of me as a silent reporter, you and I both know no one really wants to be in this hell hole. No one takes your precious little Mickey Mouse Club seriously. And you and I both now the only person capable enough to make your pathetic plays presentable left. Think of me Mr. Lambert as a reality check. You and I both know I really don't want to here; they put me here because it's the most laughable subject given in this school." Diamond said putting his muddy feet the theater bench in front of him.

Mr. Lambert left Diamond and walked to the stage where everyone else could hear him. He nodded to his sister and like giving her news of some sort.

"Students, gather around please" Mr. Lambert said in a Tim Gunn fashion. "It has come to my attention a very important event". Everyone was looking around to see if anyone had a clue of what was happening. "As many of you know Ms. Roberts will be retained in Los Angeles until the end of August as well as Ms. Aino. Mr. Brooks informed my sister and I that his family will soon move to Brooklyn which puts all of us in kind of a pickle. Since we can't risk losing more precious time recasting those parts, then we will have to adapt. Mr. Diamond, congratulations. You are now our evil Duke Willburg and you Mr. Tsukino…congratulations, you are now Victorya. Let us all pray to the God of the Arts that we make this work."

"Serena and Darien from next week on you will both have extra practices. Serena, we are counting on you" Mrs. Lambert said to Serena.

"But professors, I don't understand, we all know I can't do this, I have stage fright!" Serena said running to them.

"And no one ever told that I have to actually be part of this circus" Diamond demanded as well.

"Funny you mentioned that Mr. Blackmoon. Casting is about a lot of things" said Mr. Lambert

"Duke Willburg is an evil person who wants to take the thrown from our Prince" said Mrs. Lambert

"You can easily relate to that" said Mr. Lambert

"To the evil part" said Mrs. Lambert

"Not the thrown" said Mr. Lambert

"Everyone know who have made several attempts to that" said Mrs. Lambert

"And failed miserably" said Mr. Lambert

"Perhaps you can explore all those feelings with this role" said Mrs. Lambert

"Feelings are for the week" said Mr. Lambert

"Again Mr. Blackmoon, we all know you can relate" said Mrs. Lambert

"While Mrs. Tsukino here gave us a pleasant surprise a few days ago" said Mr. Lambert

"We saw potential in you Serena, you can also relate to Victorya" said Mrs. Lambert

"She is supposed to be this beautiful royal… how can I relate to that?" said Mr. Lambert

"She disguised herself as a royal to safe the man she fell in love when she was young" said Mrs. Lambert to the class. "If anyone can relate to that it's you" Mrs. Lambert said lowly by her ear, for only her to hear.

"I won't agree to this" Darien said and the whole class turned to look at him. Mr. Lambert approached him. "You are talking about the kiss Serena has to share with Diamond?" Mr. Lambert asked

"I can't be in the same room as him, don't ask me to watch that as well" Darien said. "I will turned the play down"

"Darien, we gave Diamond a role because it will be punishment for him, you on the other hand… while you are naturally good at this craft, you need the credit to go to Med School. Don't sabotage your career for a girl" Mr. Lambert

"Then don't give me the choice, I will walk away." Darien said.

"If you do, I will give your role to Diamond. What will you prefer? Them sharing one kiss, or them kissing through the whole play, over and over again?" since Darien didn't answer, Mr. Lambert took it as if he had accepted the terms.

"We'll begin then where we left off last week. People, positions please" said Mr. Lambert climbing off the stage.

They had actually left off at the first scene of Act 5. Where Duchess Victorya tells the truth about herself to the Prince.

Darien and Serena sat down on a garden bench that the students in charge of props brought for rehearsal.

They sat down and began the scene as soon as they heard "Action" being yelled at from the first bench.

"I keep thinking you are hiding something from me" Darien said as Prince Endymion.

"I have told you everything there is to know about me" Serena said as Duchess Victorya.

"You have sad eyes, like you know a terrible secret that is haunting you" Darien said, and Serena stood up from the bench as walk away with water on her eyes.

"How do you know?" she asked

"I know you Victorya"

"No you don't" she said "You don't know anything about me"

"I do" he said

"You like the idea of me. You think I am just another girl in your world Your Highness. You can't just assume that I will open my heart to you. My heart akes in the most horrible way and I can't stop it. Forgive me Endymion, but I can't keep pretending. You don't know me"

"Yes I do" he insisted. "I know that you are the most beautiful, honest and innocent creature there is on this planet, on any planet. Your beauty captivated me from the first moment I saw you, but your intelligence, your honesty, your kindness… you stole my heart. I will do whatever I can to keep you safe for ever. Just tell what it is you have been hiding" Darien said and turned Serena around. Real tears where running through her face. Darien cupped her and bent down to give her a kiss.

The Earth stopped moving for that instant, people didn't say anything, because they were hypnotized by them. It was so drawing to watch that nobody dared to say anything. Even Mr. Lambert swallowed a very needed correction, there wasn't supposed to be kiss on that particular scene.

They separated after what seemed to be a very hot and heavy kiss…one even for them. Serena lost in hormones and Darien's scent said something she soon wanted to take back.

"I know the real reason your mother died"

Darien didn't understood at first, but then it clicked.

"Serena, it was actually 'father' his father was the one who died, not his mother. Anyway, I think we did excellent progress for today kids. Serena and Darien are dismissed for today; you can go backstage to your fittings if you want. May I have Katie and Kathy please, thank you"

Serena was pale. Darien was completely serious and was finishing to connect the imaginary dots on his head.

"We need to talk" Darien whispered on her ear as her grabbed her wrist strongly.

"You are hurting me" Serena whispered back.

"We need to talk" he repeated more forcefully.

Diamond who watch the interaction smiled. He grabbed Serena's stuff and handled it to her.

"Apparently he isn't as charming as you thought. Right?" Diamond asked

Serena didn't said anything to him, she didn't have the time. She took her bad and sweater from Diamond's hands and left the theater.

Serena followed Darien to the school's roof, his roof.

"Explain" Dairen demanded.

"I got confused" Serena said

"Sure, now the truth"

She bit her lower lip. "I honestly don't know what to tell you"

"Start from 'I know the real reason your mother died' How about that?" he said.

"I can't" she simply said

"Serena…"

"No, you listen to me. Don't ask me again, don't ever ask me that again!" Serena yelled and left Darien alone on the roof.

She didn't returned home straight from school as she had promised before.

She had gone the The Crown for one extra-extra large chocolate milkshake. She needed it.

While she was in The Crown she received a text from Sapphire telling her that everything was arranged for the photo shoot on his house tomorrow. Great, just what she needed…Diamond Blackmoon posing next to her on a romantic setting.

She walked home and when she arrived she almost had a heart attack.

There were no paparazzi, there was something far worse greeting her on the doorway.

"What are you doing here?" she said with panic in her voice.

It was Birdie who opened the door as Serena entered her house.

"Didn't you know? I am living here for a month while I work on my piece…isn't this going to be fun sis? Just like old times. I would stay and chat but I need to go meet Darien at the park…by the lake you know? He said the place was important to him. But don't worry, I'll be home soon enough, won't forget to buy lots of gum. Oh…don't even bother going to your room, it's mine now so you are stuck on the midgets bedroom" she said as she left waving goodbye at her.

That was it…evil…had surrounded her.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27  
Day-dreaming in the middle of the storm

It was quiet the next morning in the Tsukino residence. Nobody was really talking about the fact that the table was now holding five members instead of the normal four. Birdie's presence was really uncomfortable. Even more now that she was demanding being treated like some sort of queen.

"I don't eat eggs for breakfast Ikuko. It is fine for you and all, but I like to take care of myself" she said when Ikuko offered her a delicious smelling omelet.

"No, I have never done dishes in my life, and I won't start now and risk having your dry hands" She said after breakfast.

"Daddy can you drive me to school?" she asked Ken.  
"Sweetheart why don't you walk to school with Serena and Sammy?" her father proposed.  
"Walk?" she asked in shock. "Walking is for the commoners"  
"Well, I guess I can drive you today… Serena, Sammy, want to join us?".  
"No" they both said in unisound.

As his father left the house with Birdie, Sammy and Serena ambushed their mother.  
"How long have you known about this?" Sammy asked  
"Her mother called yesterday… that was a lovely talk. She said Birdie needed somewhere to stay and she thought of us."  
"Lucky us" said Sammy "For how long?"  
"A month" Ikuko said  
"A month?" Sammy and Serena exclaimed.  
"Mom, I am not happy about this?" Sammy insisted.  
"Look, your father wasn't going to leave her out in a hotel where she could do God only knows what, so we better adapt"  
"I don't know what Serena is going to do but I am crashing at Elena's tonight. I don't want that monster anywhere near me." Sammy said and left the kitchen, took his things and left the house.  
"If you want to stay at any of your friends' house, I get it" Ikuko said touching Serena face.  
"Even if I wanted to I don't have anywhere to go right now. Mina is in L.A, Lita is in New York, Rei is in re-election mode, Amy is still studying… I'm alone".

"What about Molly? You two haven't talked to each other in ages. What's up with that?"  
"We kind of have a misunderstanding…"  
"Meaning?"  
"She says that I need to come forward with the truth about Darien's accident. Mom I can't" Serena said.  
"Are you sure? Wouldn't it be better for everyone?" Ikuko said knowingly.  
"Yesterday, Darien almost found out, and he was furious, that I knew something…he would never forgive me" Serena said and left as well the kitchen. She took her stuff from the bottom of the stairs and walked through the door.

As she walked down the path of stairs that led to her house's entrance she saw a familiar motorcycle.  
"Wanna take a ride?" Darien said from the other side of the street. Serena, who was putting on her jacket, smiled and jumped on the bike.  
"Not on president duty today I see" Serena said putting on her helmet, not leaving much time for Darien to start his engine and rode off to school.

Serena felt the warm breeze of May on her hair as they traveled the busy streets of 10th City; she was enjoying herself as she had never enjoyed herself before. She hugged herself hard and tight to Darien and she closed her eyes, only feeling the warmth of his back.

Was it possible that in that short ride she had dreamed? She saw herself driving with Darien to New York again. The night had gone totally different, she hadn't seen Seiya, he hadn't called her parents. Serena and Darien had spent time in the after party and her picture was taken by famous photographers. They had arrived at her window just in time to smell the delicious scent of waffles in the air. He had said goodbye and shared not a last, but a first kiss…a different kind of first kiss. One where she wasn't afraid to trust him.  
"You know where you used to live?" she said  
"Where?" Darien asked  
"Right next door" She gestured to the house with the apple tree, with the ladder they used to reach her balcony window.  
They crossed the apple tree and reached his own balcony window.  
"I think it's still open" she said as she turned the door knob. They found his room, exactly as Serena had remembered. Darien couldn't recognize any of the objects on his former room. Nothing was familiar. Darien moved around his room looking at the unfamiliar objects and then he saw a beautiful locket on his dresser. He opened it and a beautiful melody erupted from the locket. It sounded so similar to Serena, like the one on a sacred dream. The locket was golden and had the shape of a star. Darien noticed that the locket's inside had picture of the night sky graced with a crescent moon that moved around the night sky.  
"Serena this is yours" said Darien on her day dream, but it sounded louder somehow. She soon realized that it was the real Darien, the one standing in front of her with her backpack on his hands.  
"Thanks" she said shyly, taking her bag out of Darien's hands.  
"You seem out of it. Are you ok?" he asked a bit of worry hinting his question.  
"Yeah, I'm ok. I was just thinking about something" she said.  
"Yeah? What about?" he asked curiously.  
"Nothing important" she said finally.  
"Listen, I picked you up today because I need to talk to you. I know you said you didn't want to talk about my mom, and I get it. But please understand that I need to know about my past as well. You already denied me so much… don't take this away as well". That moved her.  
"Ask your aunt about the house next to mine. The one with the apple tree. That's all I am saying today" Serena said and moved away to go to her classroom.  
"What's in there?" Darien asked again.  
"Your past Darien. Maybe you will find some answers there" Serena said from a considerable distance. Darien didn't ask her anything else. He let her leave.

He had a rough night anyway. He spend it in a battle with himself, both thinking about ways he could destroy Diamond Blackmoon and the other thinking about those cryptic messages Serena gave him that afternoon. She knew something about her mother. Why would she hide it? Why wouldn't she tell him? Why didn't his family tell him anything? And then he thought that if Serena hadn't tell him, maybe she had a good reason not to do so. She was a shy girl that needed to feel comfortable with things.

She always needed time. Just like she was afraid of polynomial numbers, Darien found out that it was because she didn't understand her bases. As soon as she got the behind the scenes of those equations, she was solving complicated problems without thinking twice. Maybe on this case, she just needed more time.

On other very different world, far away from the happy place of Serena and Darien drama, another girl had reason to suffer.

"Coach Miller you can't accept her on the team! It's almost the end of the school year, you can't possibly expect her to add anything to our squad!" yelled Emerald Green to her cheerleading coach.

Her team had just witnessed the most awesome try-out they have ever seen by no other than Michiru Kaioh.

"She is a senior, she won't be here for long. Why add her?" Emerald continued to complain.

"I can help choreograph the routine for the Spirit Competition" Michiru said and all the girls and guys in the team seemed eager about her offer.

"That's the captain's job" Emerald snarled.

"Actually Emerald, that's the coach's job. The captain helps with the ideas" Coach Miller said coldly.

"But Coach, its tradition!" Emerald insisted.

"Tradition can change Emerald. And we have to embrace change. I don't like the captain of the cheerleader squad from East Boston here. Having Kaioh in our team can give us the upper hand" Coach Miller said. "Kaioh, do you care to conjure up a little number for tomorrow. We will have a cheer-off tomorrow. Will see which one of you will give us the best routine" Coach Miller said to both Emerald and Michiru and as she left Emerald turned to Michiru.

"I won't let you have this!" Emerald said.

"What are you afraid of? Not a little competition?" Michiru said

"Of course not, I will crush you tomorrow. You and anyone who gets on my way" Emerald said grabbing her sweater and leaving the soccer field where practice was held.

Emerald was very pissed, she had never had that much in house competition before cause no one wanted to rattled her cage. Thus, everyone knew Diamond would back her up on any plan she had to destroy anyone. People knew from experience, her latest victim, Serena Tsukino herself.

Michiru had an idea of her own to put Emerald right where she belonged.

Emerald couldn't see what was approaching to her, ironically she was digging her own grave. No matter the ill she was bringing to herself, she was furious right now. She wanted to destroy Michiru Kaioh, and she wasn't planning on taking prisoners on her take down. As any other plan she constructed, she needed Diamond's help. She texted him to come out of his classroom and meet her outside in the hallway. She waited for five minutes, practically shaking the whole time. She was a mess, a nervous one at that. Emerald was extremely worried of losing everything she had worked for: her position of power and popularity in the school. Like Quinn Fabray said before, popularity is like currency, the more you cultivated it, the more power you had amongst others, the more people respected you, and most of all, people feared you, and wouldn't dare to come on your way. What Emerald didn't know, was what Darien knew perfectly well. Lesson taught by Annaleigh herself: there will be one day where you will have as many friends as you are ever going to have. People will get tired eventually of seeing you on top and nothing will stop them from wanting to see you down.  
Annaleigh told Darien that the day she convinced him of running for school president. He asked why him? She answered: "People love you, and that is something that can't be bought or taught"  
For all the mean things she had done to people, Darien knew what the overall opinion was of Emerald. Something was clear as water, people hated Emerald Green and Darien was going to use that hate and turn it against her.

Diamond opened the door of his classroom and found Emerald leaning to a wall biting her nails.  
"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked coldly.  
"I need your help Diamond. They are trying to take me off the squad, you know that cheerleading is all I have!" Emerald exclaimed to him trying to take his arm imploring him to help. Diamond did a disgusted face; he was immediately turned off by her need of him.  
That's what boys like Diamond dislike in girls, Darien knew that and tried to explode that in his hopes of bringing Emerald down. As much as he wanted to take them both down, especially Diamond, he knew that he would be more vulnerable without his little minion to cover for him.  
"Emerald, don't bother me with your problems" Diamond said taking her arm off of him.  
"You are not gonna help me?" Emerald asked in shock  
"I'm sure you are going to figure something out by yourself. That's what I love about you" he said putting a hand on her cheek. "You can be so evil… but I can't play today. I have more important matters"  
"Your brother told me about your plans for today" Emerald said taking Diamond's hand off of her. "A photo-shoot with no other than Serena Tsukino. I can't believe you are falling for her as well as all the men in school"  
"Emerald, we agreed that you wouldn't get jealous if I found someone else attractive" Diamond said. "Serena is so…fresh" he said with a smile on his face. "And what's most attractive is that Shields likes her. Once Serena has fallen for me, I would have finally taken Darien down. I will own this school one day and I will take away everything of his, everything he wants, including that girl!" Diamond said fervently, successfully cornering Emerald to the wall.  
"Why?" Emerald asked.  
"Because he took away the one thing I wanted. So now I am going to take everything away from him."  
"You are doing this for that insufferable know-it-all Annaleigh Roberts?" Emerald asked again. "So is it true then, the rumor about her. She didn't go away for that modeling competition, she had an abortion".  
Diamond came dangerously close to Emerald and said "Mind your own business Emerald and stay away from mine" Diamond whispered to her punching with his fist the wall and returned to his classroom after making his threat.  
Emerald huffed and puffed and stomped her foot on the ground. She was so angry of her continuous failures that she ran to the one person she knew would listen to her: Sapphire Blackmoon.  
As Emerald ran through the hallway to try and meet Sapphire, Emerald missed seeing that another person was hiding behind another corridor, Birdie Tsukino who had recorded the exchange between Emerald and Diamond.  
What would Birdie do having such valuable material to her advantage? Would she use it for Darien's advantage, having enough proof that he had a bad temper and was a danger for others; or would she turn to the dark side and join him?

* * *

Darien dialed his aunt's phone number just after his English class. The phone ringed once.  
The phone ringed another time.  
The phone ringed a third time.  
Sylvia Shields answered, her voice filled of worry. "Hello? This is Sylvia Shields"  
"Sylvia it's me, Darien" Darien said to his aunt, trying to sound calm, evidently she was worried and he didn't want to disturb her any further… as much as possible.  
"Thank God it's you!" "You didn't come home last night Darien, you had me worried sick"  
"I sure came!" Darien assured her. "Just for a change of clothes, grabbed some food and left to go to Andrew's"  
"Silly me" she said sarcastically.  
"Sylvia" Darien called with a sweet voice trying to make her see his way.  
"Darien, I haven't seeing you in ages… please come home" Sylvia insisted.  
"Actually, I was thinking about going somewhere with you and John today" Darien said.  
"Where?" she asked.  
"I want to go home" Darien said.  
"Of course, come here sweetie. John and I will be waiting for you here" Sylvia said.  
"You don't understand. I want to go to my previous home. The one I am guessing is right next to Serena's house". Darien said  
Sylvia stayed completely silent.  
"Why didn't you tell me?" Darien said in a hurtful whisper.  
"When we first found out that you lost your memories, the psychiatrist advised us that we shouldn't press on you your past. Darien…I am so sorry. We thought that knowing would hurt you immensely. We always thought that starting fresh would be better…" Sylvia tried to explain.  
"I know why you did it… but I am ready now…please take me Sylvia…please"  
"You want to go now?" Sylvia asked in astonishment.  
"I want you to take me, yes." Darien said.  
"Honey, I don't know if this is a good idea. You might regret going. You are not going to find anything that you recognize. I don't know…" Sylvia said thinking, double guessing Darien's firm decision.  
"Sylvia…I don't ask for much. I'll meet you there in half an hour" Darien said hanging up. Sylvia sighed on the other side of the phone, grabbing her car keys and purse, she left her house. She dialed her husband. He answered immediately.  
"Hey honey, what's up" John said. "Any news on Darien?"  
"Actually John, he just called" Sylvia let her husband know.  
"Really?" he asked exited. "What did he said? Is he coming back home?"  
"Something like that" Sylvia said. "He wants to visit his old house John. Meet me there, I'll explain on the way" she said to her husband as she took the elevator to the apartment's underground parking lot.

Darien was eagerly waiting for his aunt and uncle outside his former home. The black Prius parked behind Darien's bike. He saw that Sylvia was getting outside her car. She walked towards Darien and gave him a hug.

"How have you been?" she asked. "Have you had any more episodes?"  
"Not really, just the occasional headache and sometimes when I am kind of tired my vision kind of blurs. It's probably nothing, maybe I need glasses"  
"Maybe you need the blessed MRI" Sylvia suggested.  
"Look, give me until Friday, the play will be done…finals will have ended for seniors anyway…I'll be free to be a guinea pig for a medical trial for all I am concerned…just give me this week."  
"You are playing with fire… actually I believe that's even safer compared to what you are doing"  
"I'll be fine. Now… can we get in? Where is John anyway?"  
"He'll be here in 15… he had to finish up with a client first. Do you want to wait for him?"  
"No…let's just do this" Darien urged.

Sylvia took out the key of the house and proceeded to come inside the property. "I'll have Javier come next week to do the garden" Sylvia said, mentioning her gardener friend Javier, who owned a local flower shop and during weekends work sproozing up the gardens of his neighbors.  
"Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it" Darien said nonchalantly.  
"Honey, let me do it…you do so much already" Sylvia insisted as she opened the door of the house. Her puppy eyes convinced Darien and he pulled away, accepting her offer. He secretly couldn't wait to see his parent's house in all its glory.  
"Why didn't you move here?" Darien asked curiously as she entered the house and searched for the light.  
"Well…didn't feel quite right" she said.  
The light was on now. Even through the blankets over couches and tables and the dust accumulating over the wood floors, Darien liked the homey feel to it. The walls had a nice light green color, and he could see some of the remaining decorations, all in white wood with pink flowers carved in. Darien pulled a white blanket that rested over the living room couch. For his surprise the couch was also light green, maybe a little darker than the walls, he immediately like it.  
"It's been a long time sweetie, since we've been here." Sylvia said.  
They moved slowly across the house, visiting the kitchen area, the dining room and the back yard… no surprise there… a rose bush… still intact.  
Then, John came to the house, kind of later than he had promised, hugged his nephew profusely, showing him love, understanding and sorrow.  
They moved upstairs and visited the room that Darien feared the most: his parent's room.  
It had dark purple walls… what's that color?… burgundy!, contrasted with the innocence of the living room… and no surprise again… rosewood floors.  
No furniture there, Darien thought…maybe it had being kept away in a storage room somewhere…maybe his aunt and uncle had sold it… he didn't know… he didn't want to ask.  
But something remained on the floor, it had yet another blanket… a painting… hiding away in an empty room.  
Darien approached it.

"Darien!" Sylvia called. He turned to look at her… she wasn't happy… she was concerned. "What is it?" he asked.  
"Leave him Sylvia" John said and Darien pulled the blanket away.  
It was a picture, a large one. The man and the woman in his dream where there, smiling at him… he was also there, kissing her large womb.

"It was a girl right?" he asked.  
"How do you know that?" Sylvia asked.  
"Debbie… it's weird, I dreamed about her once… I knew I loved her… didn't know why".  
Sylvia gasped and pulled her hand to hide her mouth. Had he dreamed with his unborn sister? How was that even possible?

"That's something you don't forget easily… maybe it stayed in your subconscious. You loved them Darien, you should be proud" John said wisely.  
"I think I do… remember them I mean, at least in my dreams, they stay the same, they don't age, Mom was gorgeous!" he said with a low voice. He kept staring at the picture and then moved suddenly to the door. There was still one last room he needed to investigate.

"I guess this is my room, right?" Darien said right in front of the last door in the corridor.  
"That's actually Debbie's room" Sylvia said quietly. Darien decided not to open it… seeing baby stuff in a dark room… an empty room would have been a whole lot of pain he hadn't signed up for. Instead, he opened the door that was adjacent to Debbie's, his. It seemed untouched, why?  
The furniture, the bed, the closet, the dresser, the locket on top. A locket? Darien moved to reach for it. It was shaped like a star, it was made of gold…it was beautiful.  
"They found Serena with it the day of the accident" Sylvia said. "She left it by your side the day she said goodbye to you in the hospital".  
(WHAT?)  
"I'm sorry what?" Darien asked holding the locket. He gave it a long stare. "The same accident that killed my parents? Serena was there? She was on that accident?" Darien asked raising his voice with each question. Sylvia didn't say anything, she kept quiet. "That must have being some real crappy psychiatrist that suggested that everyone should hide away pieces of my life!" Darien exclaimed. He then saw a picture on his dresser. It was dated a year before the accident. It looked like a bunch of kids in a summer camp. "Blue Mountain" was called and Darien found that same kid from the picture, the same kid he saw in the mirror the day he passed out in men's bathroom; he was there, with a bunch of other kids. He recognized Serena and Sammy immediately. He saw three boys of different ages with Asian features. Darien assumed they must have been the Kou brothers, and so on.  
Then a thought came to Darien's head, what were his parents doing in the middle of summer driving from his summer camp to the airport? Then he saw glimpses of what he knew was an old dream, definitely a dream he thought, but it was so blurry…  
Darien stumbled and almost fell to the ground but he grabbed the edge of the dresser and pull himself up.  
"Honey, are you ok?" Sylvia cried and run to help him. "Yes, I am" Darien said quickly. He put himself together and said: "Have a final in an hour. Bye" "Darien you can't possibly drive like this" Sylvia said quickly. "Watch me" as Darien was walking to the door John stopped him.  
"Give me those keys" he said extending his hand. Darien exhaled and gave him the keys. "I'll drive you"  
"No thanks, I'm ok." Darien said looking at John in the eye. He left the room, climbed down the stairs, opened the door and left his childhood house, full of memories and empty of anything else he had hoped to find there. Instead, he found out Serena's secret. "Why would she have kept it a secret?" he thought out loud. And then, he thought of that dream and saw the picture he took from his dresser. Somehow he knew they were involved, and it all clicked like a puzzle.  
More importantly, he wanted answers and he knew just the girl to ask them to.

* * *

Hours after he had visited his old house he waited for her to show up to her house. He was waiting on her porch. At exactly 6:13pm of that Tuesday afternoon he saw her coming to her house. She was wearing a white strapless dress with multiple chiffon layers on it. she looked just like an angel, wings, hands, halo, everything. She was also wearing her school jacket, no smile on her face, she had been crying. She hair had no buns, only a cascade of curls...but none of that mattered, she had been crying, she still has.

Darien saw her and he waited for her to walked where he was waiting. She bit her lip and sat down next to him.

She turned to talk to him.

"We need to talk" he said.

"We do" Serena said as well.

* * *

Wrapping up people, this story is almost over.

Appreciate your support as always and just a comment here: Thanks to the people that are still reading this story and have been from the very beginning. Probably 2 more chapters and this thing will be done. I am not sure if the sequel is still a sure thing, I think most of you are sick and tired of this story by now, but I really appreciate the people that have sent me messages of support and love.

This story is for you!

Thanks guys, I do promise that the story will be done by Christmas, so...

BTW (the chapter was cut, if it wasn't it would have being way too long, so wait for #28 in a couple of days)


	28. Chapter 28

I must admit it took a little longer than I had anticipated.

But to be clear, just five minutes ago I took a big part from it because if I have keep it, the sequel could not happen.

Hope you enjoy...this one is...different, a bit dark in the end...you'll see why.

(By the way, Jackie Burns is not in maternity leave...and I don't own My heart from Paramore or My love from Sia)

* * *

Chapter 28

Nightmare at the Blackmoon Manor

That same Tuesday around noon Darien returned to school. He was carrying the locket and looking around for Serena. He needed some answers.

Everyone was enjoying their lunch hour so he decided to look for her under her tree, the one she used to spend time with her friends eating Lita's delicious cooking. But she was not under her tree as it was the usual. But he did saw Rei's figure under it.

He went anyways and asked her if she knew where he could find Serena. She was sitting alone eating a tuna roll and working furiously with her Blackberry.

"I think that Diamond guy called her to her locker" she said absentmindedly.

Darien walked to where her locker was located; third row down from the girls lavatory, next to the Main Hall and the Chemistry Lab. He wanted to get there as soon as he could. He started to fill a pressure on his chest, dizziness on his head. He knew something had to be wrong with the world if Diamond was looking for Serena.

And it certainly was.

Diamond caressed her cheek and kissed her lips. She was definitely uncomfortable since there was an evident lack of movement from her behalf. She actually froze from his actions.

Darien stopped thinking when he saw that. Literally, his whole world stopped. His heart stopped beating; his brain stopped sending orders for the rest of his body to follow, he simply stopped.

But that didn't stopped Diamond's hatred for Darien. He did notice him as he was walking to Serena's locker. He did it on purpose. He also showed Serena what she had done. He pointed Darien to her, how he was on shock after catching them kissing. Diamond smiled at Darien, he had won the battle.

When Diamond left the two alone, Darien regained motion control of his body. He walked towards Serena without taking a glance at her.

She also moved towards him, but in an urgent manner.

"Darien, God! I didn't mean to. It happened so fast. I never thought we would actually do it. I mean, we were talking and a minute after... God! It didn't mean anything, you have to believe me!" Serena kept saying.

He turned to look at her with disgust. "That was a new low, even for you. When are you going to stop? You are running out of guys Serena"

"What did you just say to me? Are you calling me a slut?" Serena asked in shock.

"If the glove fits…" Darien said angrily.

"No, you don't get to call me a slut; you don't have the right to call me anything!" Serena said.

"What would you like me to call you? Since Diamond only looks for easy girls, that closes the window quiet the bit" Darien said and as soon as he said that, Serena slap him.

The 25 people still talking in the hallway saw how Serena stretched her hand to completely humiliate Darien. The couple of girls chatting by their lockers dropped their jaws. 'How could Serena dare to harm him?' The boys returning from their basketball practice also saw the exchange, they laughed. 'What a loser that Shields dude, can't control his girl'.

"Don't talk to me like I am your girlfriend. You lost that right the moment you said to Annaleigh that you could never, ever love me" Serena said.

"So you are still living in Neverland? How's the weather there? Cloudy with a chance of meatballs? I wasn't talking about you! The world doesn't twirl around you Serena. Oh I am so sorry; I was under the impression you knew that from your Science class. Silly me, I thought you paid any attention whatsoever!" Darien said and Serena was about to slap him again, but he caught her hand in the air.

As Serena started to struggle to free her hand from his grip Darien opened her palm and put the locket in it.

Serena stopped struggling as she saw the shiny object, and she looked in Darien's eyes.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed.

"How much have you lied to me exactly?" Darien questioned.

"Please let me explain!" Serena urged.

"You have had months to explain Serena, and frankly, whatever explanation you have is useless now. " Darien said walking away.

"Darien wait" Serena yelled. "It is not what you think it is!"

Darien turned around. "So my family and I didn't got into an accident just because you had a crush on some random guy and had the excruciating need of saying goodbye to him" He started to walk again, leaving Serena with a tear in her eyes, but after a couple of steps he came back again. "You know what; it is not fair to Seiya that you at the time were in love with two guys at the same time. It's all you, Serena. It's your fault Seiya fell in love with you, it's your fault he left, it's your fault my parents got in that car, it's your fault that truck hit them, it's your fault I forgot everything and everyone I knew, it's your fault I had to go through a hell of a recovery alone! It's all your fault, it always has and it always will and nothing, nothing you ever say or do will bring my parents back, nothing you will ever say or do will bring my baby sister back. I hate you and I hope one day you have to go through what I had to go through by your damn self"

Serena didn't know why but she vanished from that dream as Darien left her again. She blinked twice and realized that that had been the third time she had played a different scenario in her head of what had actually happened that afternoon.

In reality, Darien, after walking into Diamond and Serena kissing, he had walked towards them, gave Serena the necklace and left; leaving a frozen Serena and a pissed off Diamond. Diamond was annoyed that he hadn't achieved the wanted result: upset Darien to madness.

"God!" Diamond exclaimed "What do you even see in him? Can't you see that he is not that into you?"

"Oh, but you are?" Serena asked sarcastically.

"Didn't you get that from our kiss, give me another one and I'll show you better" Diamond said touching her face but Serena immediately snapped his hand off.

"Touch me again and you'll regret it" Serena said. "You don't fool me. Only reason you are doing this is to upset him. But don't you get it? He will always outsmart you, he will always win, 'cause you are nothing but a bug, an annoying bug that no one wants. Honestly, I thought that you were kind of a nice guy and that you and I could be friends, but now I realized that you are an amazing coward. I could never be your friend and for matter of being anything else, believe me when I tell you that anyone else in this planet has a better chance than you do"

"Wow, are you really planning to date them all, so you really are the new school slut, aren't you?" Diamond said with a smirk on his face.

"God, you're such a pig and so not worth it, for your sake I hope you don't show up to your brother's project today, otherwise I'll leave" Serena said and walked away but in that moment, which by the way made Diamond's smirk face off, Diamond graved strongly Serena's arm causing her pain.

"Is everything alright here?" asked the warm voice of Andrew who turned to the scene as if sent by angels.

"Nothing, just…nothing that is worthy of my time" Diamond said releasing Serena's arm from his strong grip. He finally walked away and left Serena and Andrew alone in the hallway.

"Are you ok?" Andrew asked Serena.

"I think I am" Serena said.

"Don't worry about him, he's an idiot. Come on, I'll walk you to your next class" Andrew said walking next to her.

As they passed the end of the hallway they failed to realize that there was someone else lurking around the school's corridor's at that moment. Someone that wasn't preoccupied with being late or that didn't go to that school and had taped everything on a little camera pen.

* * *

The constant flash of the camera was blinding Serena over and over again. She had stepped into another dream, which turned each time on that same nightmare. Darien saying all those awful things, but he hadn't…had he?

Flash.

Flash.

Flash.

Take.

Pose.

Take.

Move.

Pose.

Flash.

Flash.

Flash.

I am finding out that maybe I was wrong  
That I've fallen down and I can't do this alone

**Stay with me, this is what I need, please?****  
**  
Sing us a song and we'll sing it back to you  
We could sing our own but what would it be without you?

**I am nothing now and it's been so long****  
****Since I've heard the sound, the sound of my only hope****  
**  
This time I will be listening.

Sing us a song and we'll sing it back to you  
We could sing our own but what would it be without you?

This heart, it beats, beats for only you  
This heart, it beats, beats for only you

**This heart, it beats, beats for only you****  
****My heart is yours****  
**  
This heart, it beats, beats for only you  
My heart is yours  
(My heart, it beats for you)

This heart, it beats, beats for only you (It beats, beats for only you)  
My heart is yours (My heart is yours)

This heart, it beats, beats for only you (Please don't go now, please don't fade away)  
My heart, my heart is yours (Please don't go now, please don't fade away)

**(Please don't go now, please don't fade away) My heart is yours****  
****(Please don't go now, please don't fade away) My heart is yours****  
****(Please don't go, please don't fade away)****  
****(Please don't go now, please don't fade away) My heart is...**

Serena found herself dancing with Darien across a beautiful dance floor full of lights and candles. Couples were surrounding them, all wearing masks and smiling at them, the beautiful couple dancing and expressing their love for each other through movement.

(Please don't go now, please don't fade away) My heart is yours  
(Please don't go now, please don't fade away) My heart is yours  
(Please don't go, please don't fade away)  
(Please don't go now, please don't fade away) My heart is...

Suddenly they weren't dancing, they were on a marble floored balcony looking at the bright stars and the gorgeous moon that blessed their love.

My love, leave yourself behind

Beat inside me, leave you blind

My love, you have found peace

Embracing her he started saying sweet nothings on her ear. He turned her around so she was facing the stars. He kissed her neck.

You were searching for release

You gave it all, into the call

You took a chance and

You took a fall for us

"I love your eyes"

You came thoughtfully, loved me faithfully

You taught me honor, you did it for me

Tonight you will sleep for good

You will wait for me my love

"I love your skin" he said drawing figures on her bare arms.

Now I am strong (Now I am strong)

You gave me all

You gave all you had and now I am home

My love, leave yourself behind

Beat inside me, leave you blind

My love, look what you can do

I am mending, I'll be with you

"I love your lips" he said brushing his own on her shoulder.

You took my hand added a plan

You gave me your heart

I asked you to dance with me

You loved honestly

Did what you could release

But suddenly, Serena found something awfully wrong with her dream. The flashes had ended and she could no longer see a sky full of stars or a magnificent moon. And worst of all, she could still fill the touch of someone else's arm on hers. And since the intoxicating sent was nothing like cherry wood or roses…that person couldn't possibly be Darien.

She forced herself out of the man's grip, but he was way too strong.

"Don't fight it" he continued and tried to reach for the zipper in the back of her dress.

This wasn't a dream she wanted to be part of, so she screamed to wake up.

The loud noise of a door echoed in the room where Serena was at. "Diamond leave her alone!" yelled the worried voice of Sapphire Blackmoon. He ran to her rescue. Serena couldn't possibly wait for Sapphire to reach the impossible distance between the door and them, even if it seemed short, she had to get herself out.

She stepped on his foot making him scream in pain and then as he lost his grip on her she elbowed his nose making him bleed.

Sapphire caught Serena and gave her a reassuring hug.

Seconds later a tall, blonde woman came running through the door way, followed by a tall, black haired. They were Diamond and Sapphire´s adoptive parents.

"We heard screaming coming from here!" the woman exclaimed. She was wearing all black. She had a big nose too. She had her hair tied in a tight bun in the back of her head.

"Are you alright?" the man asked. He was wearing a suit in light colors. He too had a worried expression on his face much like his wife standing next to him over the room's door.

"No mom! Diamond was going to hurt Serena" Sapphire said.

"What?" both Mr. and Mrs. Blackmoon asked in shock.

"That's a lie" Diamond said sitting down in the floor.

"I am not lying" Sapphire said.

"That's enough both of you!" Mr. Blackmoon said.

"Serena tell us what happened" asked Serena who was still hugging Sapphire like holding to dear life. Suddenly… "I…." she loosened her grip on Sapphire and turned to look at everyone. She fixed her eyes on Diamond. "You did this to Annaleigh, didn't you?" and as she said those words, it was as if all the pieces of the puzzle came into place.

Serena could see it clearly in front of her eyes, same as Diamond whose secret was now out.

"What are you talking about Serena?" Mrs. Blackmoon asked.

"You…you…" Serena was out of words. "All Darien has been doing is trying to get back to you…you hurt her and he was just trying to get back to you"

She shook her head.

She wiped the tears off her face.

She quickly grabbed her school jacket and ran away from the room, ignoring the voices of the people inside it that were demanding an explanation.

She gave none, she just ran.

Running, how was that was the only physical activity she was good at? She had being running all her life, from her problems, from her past, from her friends and from Darien himself.

She stopped running; she couldn't avoid what was in front of her anymore.

Ironically, as everything interesting in life she stopped running in front a very familiar place. It was Annaleigh's house. No shock there, since it was kind of normal that both Annaleigh and Diamond being raised by wealthy families lived in the same nice an exclusive neighborhood.

Could she even be there? She was supposed to be in L.A. shooting a movie with hunky actor Vincent Chase. Maybe she could just ring and see for herself.

She rang once, then twice.

German housekeeper Heidi answered the door. "Ms. Serena, what brings you here? Are you hurt?" Heidi asked surprised and giving her a suspicious look since she had her hair disheveled and the hem of her dress was torn and dirty.

"I am fine Heidi, I was just wondering if Leigh was home" Serena said.

"You are in luck, she just came today" Heidi said opening the door further so Serena could come in.

"Go to her room" she offered. "She will be happy to see you"

Serena went to Annaleigh's room, hesitating every step she took.

She found herself seconds later in front of her room. She knocked three times and no less than five seconds later Annaleigh opened her door.

"Hi Serena" Annaleigh said kind of surprised.

"Hi" Serena let out.

"I've missed you" she said inviting her into her room. The room, which usually was neat, clean and perfect, was a mess. Annaleigh, the control freak, didn't seem to care at all.

"Sorry about the mess, but Abby is not doing so well. The doctors think that she might be having an adverse reaction to the quimo. She was asking for me, so I decided to come back early" Annaleigh said with a sad hint in her voice.

"I'm sorry to hear that" I know…it sucks. But she fought this thing once, we'll do it again if it's necessary." She said trying to sound chipper.

"If I am in your way I can come back some other time" Serena said.

"Don't worry, I am glad I have company" Annaleigh motion for Serena to take a sit in her bed. "What brings you here?"

"I wanted to ask you about your pregnancy" Serena said bluntly. Annaleigh blinked twice before she answered. The question had obviously shocked her. This wasn't a question she expected to hear from Serena. She usually kept this private questions to herself. Nevertheless, L.A. made a change in Annaleigh so she decided that she was going to tell the truth…at least a part of it so she wouldn't keep Serena in the dark any longer.

"You may have already heard the rumor…but I did lost a child" Annaleigh said. "It happened around two, three years ago. I was in a very bad place, stilled I mourned my sister, not in the best of ways. I…simply didn't take care of myself. I got so into punishing me…that I simply…lost my will to live altogether. I became anorexic, it got so bad that I even stop menstruating, that's how I lost count. Of all the clichés from multiple bad reality shows, I had to fall in the worst: Sixteen and Pregnant." She paused.

"It wasn't Darien's" Annaleigh added.

"I didn't asked" Serena said.

"I was just saying…if you were curious that is" Annaleigh said. "Now, are you now going to tell me what are you doing with that dress?"

"Who was the father?" Serena asked instead of offering her answer. "I guess you are not going to tell me" Annaleigh joked lightly, but answered anyway Serena's question "Diamond Blackmoon" the revelation didn't shock Serena, she had guessed as much.

"How?" Serena asked.

"I am so not going to have the birds and the bees talk with you. Didn't you already see this subject in Health?" Annaleigh said jokingly.

"You know what I mean" Serena said.

"Like I said…I was too busy punishing myself to know what was good for me. I got drunk in a party in his house. I knew he had a crush on me since we first met in middle school… and I was just too dumb to stop him" Annaleigh said sadly remembering the night everything changed for her.

"Is that what Darien is trying to do? To get even with him?" Serena asked.

"No, Darien is trying to destroy him, to get even would mean so much less. That night, it was my mistake, but what Diamond did after that…, that's what caused me to hate him. Darien found out and…well" Annaleigh said

"What did Diamond do?" Serena demanded to know.

"When I found out I was pregnant, he first told me it couldn't possibly be his, that I was a lose screw, that I could have as easily slept with anyone else, then when he finally took responsibility, he sent his lawyer to my house with a check and an appointment in New York, so I could take care of the problem. By then, I had already lost him…or her" Serena looked at her friend, she was honestly sad.

"So you are back for good?" Serena inquired.

"For now" Annaleigh answered.

"What do you mean?" Serena asked in shock. "You are leaving 10th City?"

"I am going to New York, got a part in Wicked…that actually amused me a lot"

"Seriously?" Serena asked.

"Yeah, apparently Jackie Burns is on extended maternity, so… I have a really good agent now, but anyhow it's only for a little while, say hi to the new temporary Wicked Witch of the West"

"Appropriate" Serena said

"Thanks, I thought so was well" Annaleigh said. "After that, 'cause it's only for a couple of months, I am going to London, I may be moving in with Arthur, who knows"

"So, it's true, you two are a thing." Serena asked curiosly.

"It was his idea, actually, the moving in together. I think we may be moving way to fast and furious, but I think I found someone that I can be totally honest with, the true me." Annaleigh answered.

"I thought that person was Darien" Serena said

"He doesn't belong to me" Annaleigh said to Serena straight in the eye. "Maybe our feelings will be strictly platonic… I knew perfectly well that he never felt as strongly as I felt for him. But it was ok I guess. At least I got to be a part of his life. I will always love him, and he will probably always have some sort of feeling for me, but it will never be as strong or as genuine as the ones he has for you" Annaleigh said with a small smile.

"You know it's weird that you about him like that. It will always make me feel jealous" Serena said blushing.

"Why would you be jealous of me?" Annaleigh asked

"Have you looked at you? You are a goddess" Serena said in a kind of scoring tone. Annaleigh simply smiled.

"You are underestimating how beautiful you are. Me? It's all smoke and mirrors… it has taken me quite some time to have this figure, you should have looked at me back then when I was sick, I was this tall and weighted maybe the same as you do now. I was skin and bone, believe me, nothing beautiful about that. But you… you Serena Tsukino have a butt, you have legs that don't look like chicken ones and in a couple of years you will get something other than a training bra" since Annaleigh sad all of these things so serious it took Serena a couple of seconds to realize that Annaleigh had just made a funny joke at her expense so she retaliated by punching her with a pillow on her head. They ended up having a pillow fight and so much needed fun.

They were both exhausted in Annaleigh's bed when she asked Serena when was she planning to tell Darien the truth.

"I am telling Darien today" Serena said.

"And the dress?" Annaleigh asked once more, hoping her friend wouldn't avoid her once more.

"You are not the only one with Blackmoon troubles" Serena finally said.

"What did he do to you?" Annaleigh asked getting herself up from her bed, putting her weight on her elbow so she could look at Serena.

"Nothing really" Serena said with Annaleigh's same sad voice.

"Don't say that…that's the first mistake you make. Thinking it was nothing" Annaleigh said.

"Did he hurt you?" Serena asked her.

"What happened to me, it was my fault, I never stopped him… but I never agreed to it either…that's the problem with guys, they think no means yes…and well, that night I was way too drunk to be conscious about my actions… I should have stopped him when I could but I said nothing…it was my own fault" Annaleigh said.

"I am so sorry" Serena said, angst felt her body and she thought that that could have very well happened to her. Darien was right to want to stop Diamond, he was dangerous and he crossed every possible line with Annaleigh, she didn't deserve that, and most definitely didn't deserve to be taken advantage off, he was a pig, simple as that.

"I am sorry too…but there is not much I can do now…just hope to God that Darien doesn't do anything too stupid" Annaleigh said.

"What do you mean?" Serena asked.

"What he wants to do is get him expelled…but I think he is planning things that are just too…elaborate" Annaleigh tried to explain.

"Like?" Serena asked.

"Working with your sister for once. I even called him when I found out and asked him what was the catch" Annaleigh said.

"You knew Birdie is my sister?" Serena asked in shock.

"Not a very common last name" Annaleigh answered honestly.

"Yeah, I guess so"

"I was worried he had looked for her for her resemblance to you, she looks just like you, but different, I was worried he might have harbor feelings for her. Then he, very insistently told me that he would never, ever loved her" it sounded familiar to Serena…

Darien had always told her the truth.

"He said that about Birdie? He wasn't talking about me?" Serena asked at last when the truth finally hit her.

"Why would he be talking about you?

"Oh my God! I'm such a jerk!"

"No comments there" Annaleigh said looking away with a smile on her face.

"Shut up" Serena said

As every thought was being knit together in Serena's mind, Heidi entered the bedroom.

"Forgive my intrusion Ms. Annaleigh, but Ms. Abigail is asking for you"

"Sure, thanks Heidi, could you please go to the kitchen and prepare her meal?"

"Will do Ms. Annaleigh" Dinner…it was almost 6 o'clock, Serena needed to hurry if she wanted to catch Darien in her house.

She took a cab for what distance her money will take her. It wasn't far from her house, about a couple of blocks.

As she walked the distance, she emerged herself again in thought.

Darien had always told her the truth…she needed to do the same as well.

"We need to talk" he said finally.

"We do" Serena answered.

Serena noticed that she had kept the locket in her palm all of this time, grabbing it like it was her key to forgiveness.

"I am sorry" Darien started.

"I am the one who is sorry. I know that you never meant to hurt me that day in your apartment. I shouldn't have eavesdropped; I know you weren't talking about me."

"I'm sorry I have such a bad temper, I should have fought harder for you"

"I don't deserve you"

"Don't say that" Darien whispered.

"It's my entire fault…everything…what happened to your parents" Serena said with her voice interrupted constantly by tears.

"I know you think that, but it's not your fault"

"It is"

"It's not"

"I am so sorry" she said defeated by tears.

"Shussshhhh" he said and held her, kissing her temple. "It's ok, I forgive you" Darien said to her in the tenderest voice he could muster.

Her mother interrupted them for a moment as she opened the front door. Serena thought right a moment ago when she thought she heard the phone.

"I am sorry to interrupt you guys, it was Annaleigh over the phone" Ikuko said in a somber voice.

"What happened mom?" Serena asked worriedly.

"Abby was rushed to the hospital…she had a seizure. She said that she would call later when she had more information, I wanted her to keep me posted. I'll go by the hospital tomorrow and visit. She also wanted you to know Darien" Ikuko said this time to Darien.

"Thanks Mrs. Tsukino, I'll make sure to stop by tonight"

"You are going? I want to go too" Serena said standing up from the stairs.

"Sweetie, we can't do anything at this point, plus, I think it's better that she stays with her immediate family tonight, I'll take you later this week" Ikuko said to her daughter.

"What do you think it might be? You think that the leukemia is back?" Serena wondered.

"No…" Darien said keeping quiet, he didn't want to alarm her of what might really be…the cancer might very well have spread to her brain, meaning there was little that could be done at that point.

"So you think she might get better?" Serena asked Darien. Ikuko looked at him

"Let's hope Serena" was the only thing he said. He hated to make her worry, he was hoping for the best as well…plus what did he knew really? He wasn't even a pre-med student yet. Sure, he had learned a lot by himself over the years reading medicine books he bought online…those things were the ones freaking him right now. He had had as well seizures over the past couple of months. He was even starting to be afraid that he couldn't even have the chance to be with Serena long enough now that everything was getting better between them. What if he was seriously sick? What if he needed an operation and he didn't make it? What would happen to Serena? He didn't want to leave her; he didn't want to leave her at all.

"Serena, dinner is ready. Why don't you go change and wash up? Birdie is not in your room right now" Ikuko said moving towards her daughter putting a hand on her shoulder and giving her a light hug.

"Yeah, I'll go mom. Are you staying Darien?" she asked.

"I think I'll leave. I want to check on Abby. I'll text you once I have news" Darien said coming out of his own perturbing thoughts. He looked worried as well. Serena caught that right away. That made her really anxious for Annaleigh's little sister.

He said goodbye to her mother, a bit awkward if I may add… and to her, they didn't say anything to each other, they simply nodded, too scared to even say the words. Were they too scared to say goodbye?

Serena looked at her reflexion on her mirror. She was a mess.

She unzipped her dress and left it fall down to the ground. She stepped off of it leaving herself only with a mid length corset and a pair of hip-hugger boy shorts that match the fabric of the corset.

She went to look for the comfiest pair of sweats she owned and a big sweater. She picked one that was two sizes too big for her, one that her mother had owned on her Brown years a long time ago. She put on her bunny slippers and decided to put her locket in a safe place, her jewelry box whose only key she kept in an empty compact mirror in her make-up drawer.

She received a text from Darien which she read immediately. _"They are taking her to the surgery wing. Keep you posted"_

Then, after she read the text she received a call from an unknown number which she answered thinking it might be Annaleigh calling from another cell or even a paid phone in the hospital.

"Hello?" she said.

"Glad that you answered" a deep voice said through the receiver, it cackled. "Wanted you to know that we have some unfinished business little bunny. Can't wait till I see you tomorrow… too bad you can't wear those undergarments…I am beating myself I couldn't see them for myself" and the voice despaired as fast as it had made the first sound.

She was scared…to say the least, she let the phone fall to the ground as the dial tone from her phone extinguished in her mind.

* * *

Tell me you liked it! Please!


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Two can Play

Had that phone call being even real? Did Diamond really threaten her?

After the dial tone died she let her phone fall to the ground. She stared at it with so much freight in her eyes. Could he really do something to hurt her? What was she thinking; if Emerald pulled off that little number with the red paint then she could be seriously hurt if Diamond was involved.

After her brain stopped the mini stroke she almost had out of fear, a single tear fell from her eyes. She wiped it before it reached her cheek.

What was going to happen to her?

She was so scared…

Birdie entered the room, she stared at her for a minute, she saw that Serena was doing absolutely nothing at all, she was just staring at the wall…looked as she was about to cry.

"What are you doing in my room?" Birdie asked. That put Serena out of her fear consumed bubble.

"Get out" Serena whispered

"What did you say to me?" Birdie asked astonished by Serena's ballsy attitude.

"I said get the hell out of my room you horrible, gold digging, strip dancer, sorry excuse of a cheerleader. Get out of my room and get your filthy things out of here before I throw them out myself" Serena yelled at her. Ok…not the best reaction to have…but she was kind of scared and Birdie was indeed a horrible, gold digger, strip dancer, sorry excuse of a cheerleader.

"You little bitch. I AM SO GOING TO KILL YOU" Birdie said before she launched at Serena and tackled her to the ground as she began to pull her hair.

Scratches, punches, pinches and not friendly bites were going around Serena's bedroom floor for a couple of minutes before Ikuko, Kenshin and Sammy stormed in the room. Sammy grabbed Serena and tried with all his strength to keep her off Birdie. Kenshin grabbed his eldest daughter by the waist and called everyone for attention.

"Enough" Kenshin yelled. The girls calmed as soon as they heard their father.

"I want her out of my room, I want her out of this house and I want her out of my life!" Serena exclaimed.

"Serena that's enough" Kenshin said with a strong voice that echoed in her room.

"I don't want to hear about any of this anymore. Birdie you are supposed to be the mature one here. If anything like this happens again in my house I'll drive you myself to your house. It's obvious you need a change of heart, but it's something I can't give you, not with you behaving like this." Then Kenshin looked at his younger daughter with sorrow. "I am disappointed in you. I thought I raised you better than this" That hurt even more than being yelled at. Serena let a breath out; that had really hurt.

Sammy took Serena to his room where she proceeded to sit on his bed.

"Do you want me to bring you dinner?" Sammy asked her looking worriedly at her.

"No, it's ok Sammy. I just want to sleep" Serena said putting her head on Sammy's pillow.

Sammy exited tentatively the room, leaving Serena alone. He was worried about his sister. What could have possessed her to break into a fight with Birdie, sure she was horrible, but that doesn't mean she is worth been grounded for.

Serena waited for Sammy to leave the room, and then she took Sammy's phone from the base on his night table and dialed a number.

"Hi, are you home? Good. Listen, could you pick me up here tomorrow… No, I am fine, but it's just that I feel safe around you and I am kind of scared of going to school tomorrow. Thanks, you are amazing". She let the phone die again and place it back to its resting spot.

Next morning, Serena didn't bother with breakfast; she received a text of her school's usher and went directly to receive this person.

She saw her brown hair in her typical fashion; she had ironed it down and put it in a high ponytail. She had always loved her rockfish style, heavy black eyeliner; black tights under her school skirt, a Ramones t-shirt under her school shirt, the suspenders of her outfit were left un-hanged, black ankle boots, a black letter mail bag on her shoulder and her ipod at the loudest volume that it would aloud, probably enjoying Muses's last album.

"Thanks for picking me up Lita" Serena said to her friend.

"No problemo" Lita said back lowering her ipod's volume. "So, are you going to tell me what's going on?" She said looking at Serena with a worried glance.

"I am not sure yet, but, please don't leave me by myself today, I may not be entirely safe in school today" Serena said sincerely.

"Yeah, but why? I don't get it. Did you get in some type of trouble?" Lita asked.

"I think so" Serena whispered, getting paler by each word that came out of her mouth. With each word she remembered Diamond's hands on her, trying so hard to make her his. She blinked and tried to forget the memory, but it was very hard, the trauma was tattooed in her mind.

"Lita, Diamond tried to take advantage of me yesterday" Serena said in a soft whisper.

Lita stopped walking. "That son of a bitch!"Lita cried. "I am going to kill him"

"Please don't…I can't tell anyone or he is going to know it was me, just please…don't say anything and for God sake's don't leave me alone today" Serena said and saw the sad look in Lita's eyes. Serena knew Lita hated feeling inhibited with a situation; she would have normally just crushed the guy's skull on the street and made it look like a horrible accident. "Please believe me, he didn't hurt me, just scared me to death"

"Have you told anyone? Your parents?"Lita asked.

"They are clueless like always, so that's good" Serena tried to smile but couldn't, the effort seemed enormous.

Lita tried to reason this in her mind. She had to help Serena, but felt so useless in a situation so serious.

"You should report him somehow" Lita suggested. "Maybe then you could expel him"

"The incident didn't occur in school grounds" Serena said.

"What about a restraining order?" Lita suggested again.

"Lita come on! I am just glad that he didn't actually hurt me." Serena said.

"So what happened?" Lita asked. Serena then told her about the photo shoot that took place in Sapphire's house. How she had agreed to help him with his art project and that she had on a beautiful white dress that Sapphire had gotten her. Then she told Lita about her daydream, the ballroom floor, her dance with imaginary Darien and finally how blinded she had felt with the camera flashes that she couldn't distinguish what was real and what was not, but that she had definitely felt that the guy touching her arms and kissing her neck wasn't Darien, so then she woke from the dream and somehow pushed Diamond away. Then she told Lita about the call, and figured out that the caller couldn't have been anyone else but Diamond.

"Report him" Lita said again.

"Lita…" Serena tried to reason with her friend and both of them came to the conclusion that if things got worse by the end of the day then Serena will have to tell her parents and the Headmaster.

They finally arrived to school and Lita walked Serena to her locker and finally left her on her first class. When she went to her desk, she found a white rose on her desk. She immediately knew that it couldn't possibly be from Darien. It wasn't his style, never had been; Darien likes red roses.

She saw Dominic Colton talk with a bunch of his friends a couple of seats away from her, so she gathered the courage she needed and walk to him. She cleared her throat. "I'm sorry guys" Serena said as she approached the group and everyone silenced. "Dominic, did you see who left this on my desk?" As Serena asked this everyone laughed and giggled. She started feeling really embarrassed.

"I don't know , who you are dating this week Serena? Maybe he left it there. Or maybe one of the other thousand guys you have being hanging out with." He finished saying this and his friends proceeded with an "ooohhhh" and a couple more giggles as well. Serena scoffed and went to the waste basket in the front of the class and threw the flower away. Just as she did this she saw that just across the hallway from where she was standing Diamond was looking at her. He was filming her with his camera phone. She went pale.

Her professor had just arrived and shut the door, closing her view from Diamond. She closed her eyes and hoped that that had being a trick from her imagination.

"Good to see you on time Miss Tsukino, now take your seat" Mr. Oberg said, her Social Studies teacher. "By the way, I have your quiz back, I am proud of you, you are improving a lot your grades, here" He said as he handled her an A minus paper. She couldn't feel proud over her grade, she felt preoccupied enough over whatever Diamond had planned for her.

Her phoned rang the message tune so she took it out and saw that she had a multimedia message.

_I am watching you lil' bunny, hurt you didn't like my rose._

And a video of her throwing the rose appeared.

"Serena take your seat and put your phone away" commanded Mr. Oberg. Slowly she walked all the way back to her seat. Dominic noticed how she went from sour cream pale to ghost pale in a couple of seconds.

"Are you ok?" he asked her as she passed him by. She slowly shook her head.

"Mr. Oberg, Serena is not feeling well" Dominic called his teacher.

"It's ok Dominic, she is just in shock" Mr. Oberg said laughing a little, so distracted he didn't noticed that she had closed her eyes and started shaking. She was in shock alright.

The two long hours of the lecture on the French-Indian war were suddenly over and thankfully the bell rang. She hadn't taken a single note; she hadn't drawn a single picture. She just stared at her blank notebook and did nothing.

"If you really felt that bad you could have just gone to the Infirmary, you know?" Dominic said to her, she turn to look at him, grabbed her bag and left the classroom without another word said. She knew she would accomplish nothing by been mad at Dominic, but it looked that the right thing to do at the moment.

As she walked through the hallway without Lita's company she realized that she wasn't going to give Diamond the satisfaction of terrorizing her. Yes, it was scary, but she was going to make sure it didn't show.

IT lab happened; she finished her PowerPoint project and presented it to her class. She did a wonderful and animated presentation full of color and beautiful pictures she took herself from her trip as an undercover model in New York. The minute she saw one of her pictures with Darien, her courage reappeared, she had something to fight for.

Lunch came, now almost all of her group of friends was complete. Only Mina was missing, how much Serena missed her silly comments and gossip!

She saw another message, another video of her, this one was taken from a distance, but it was clearly her sitting with her friends. A message came as well.

_Are you scared yet?_

She answered to the text. _Not at all_

She got another one

_If not for you, how about for your friends?_

Amy, her blue haired friend noticed Serena had gone blank staring at her phone. Sweet, innocent Amy, she who risked getting into trouble for Serena. Could Diamond hurt her? "Serena is everything alright?" Amy said putting down her sandwich. She had joined school that morning as Lita. She had successfully won the Academic competition, aced every single subject and answered right every single question. They went head to head down to the last stage of the competition with the French delegation and the Dutch one, but finally prevailed. Could Diamond hut her? Or maybe he was planning on hurting Rei? She was gorgeous, exotic and had a sultry way about her. Any guy would notice her. I mean, she had had already dozens of prospects for dates but she always turned them down. Even if she tried to deny her "off again, on again" relationship with her boyfriend Chad, he meant a great deal to her. But she was indeed very flirty in nature, could Diamond mistake her sultry nature and take advantage of her? What about Lita? She was happy with her relationship with Andrew, even though it was just starting and they hadn't had that many dates yet, they were taking it really slow. But Lita had always put on a strong face, hadn't had that many friends in her past, she was really innocent and romantic when it came to love. Would he hurt her? Guys always went crazy over the girl with the heavy eye liner, and a taste for metal bands. Molly? Elena? What if it weren't even her girlfriends? What if it was one of the guys? Sammy? Melvin?

_What do you want? _She texted_._

_You know what I want. _Serena fringed.

"S, is everything alright?" Lita asked worriedly. Serena tried to hide her fears and put on a smile.

"Nothing is wrong, I am just having trouble reaching Darien in the hospital" she lied. Amy bought it, and Rei as well but Lita didn't.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yeah, worried about little Abby, isn't it awful? Her family has all this money and she is so sick." Serena said, trying to get the conversation rolling on a whole different topic.

"All the money in the world can't buy you a cure, what will?" said Rei. And so the conversation drifted. From time to time Lita checked Serena's demeanor, just to make sure she wasn't playing her.

After lunch she was accompanied to the girl's lavatory, then her locker and then Rei and Lita accompany her to French.

"Asseyez-vous" commanded Mrs. Dory her French teacher.

They were studying some conjugations while she tried desperately to reach Darien on her cell.

The two hour period went briefly. Mrs. Dory delivered quizzes; hers had a "Très, très bien". And she hated Diamond even more, for once she was doing so well in school and she couldn't enjoy it. That miserable boy, Serena wondered if he found pleasure at making others feel misery. Since it loved company, maybe he liked making people feel even more miserable than himself.

Last period, Spanish. Mr. Gomez greeted her with an "Oye Serena, te fue mu ybien en tu examen final, estoy orgulloso" (Hey Serena, you did great on your final, I am really proud)

"Gracias señor Gomez, es todo gracias a Elena" (Thank you Mr. Martinez, it's all thanks to Elena's help) Serena said with a big smile and a bit of an accent.

Mr. Gomez was a tall, handsome man, really charismatic, he was blonde and had honey brown eyes, his smile usually was something to fantasize girls between the ages of 12 to 18 usually gossiped among themselves about how wonderful he was.

Spanish was usually Serena's favorite language subject. She was good because Elena was constantly talking in Spanish anyway, so she picked up a lot.

She sat down and turned to look at the window and there he was, Diamond.

She gasped, Lita who was sitting next to Serena notice this. She turned to look where Serena had looked but failed to see anything out of the ordinary.

"You ok S?" Lita asked.

"Yeah, I thought I saw a spider on the window" Serena lied again. She tried to look straight to the front of the classroom, but she couldn't stop thinking about Diamond.

Bell rang; rehearsal was up…great, more Diamond.

When she got to the theater she was amazed. The place looked totally different. Beautiful columns grazing the sides of the stage, lights, backdrops, everything was ready.

Lita told her that she was going backstage to finish preparing everyone for the dress rehearsal.

She put her belongings on a chair in the front row and then she saw Darien get in the theater. When he met eyes with Serena he smiled at her.

She immediately was able to breathe normally again. Her protector was there.

As she was going to greet him, both Mr. and Mrs. Lambert intercept him so she stopped walking towards him.

"Serena, do you want to read to last scene with me?" Scott asked reaching her with a bunch of papers on his hand.

"Hey Scott, have you heard from Mina?" Serena asked him.

"Last time we spoke on the phone she told me that they planned coming soon. They were rapping up back there" Scott said to Serena. "So? Final scene?"

"Sure" Serena said to Scott and took out her own script.

"So, what's your real name" Scott asked Serena as searched for the page they were in.

She hadn't reviewed the act yet…she kept pushing it behind and never really read the scene through.

"Serenity" a strong voice said behind her. It was Darien. She turned to look at him, then saw his beautiful blue eyes. "I knew I've met you before. Your mother used to work in palace, when we were first attacked twenty years ago, you and your mother were in the carriage that was supposed to transport my mother and me, but we were attacked. Your mother told them that my mother and I were dead, they took you captive. I never saw you again"

"Your highness, I assure you, I have never seen you in my life before this week. I can't be the person you talk off" Serena as Duchess Victorya said.

"You are lying" Darien as Prince Endymion said. "Kunzite, take her into custody" Darien commanded Scott.

"Wait!" cried Serena as Scott was approaching her and taking her hand. "Your highness, we may have never crossed paths before, but what I told General Kunzite is truth, you are in great peril. Prince Carlton will try to kill you! You must run!"

"And be a coward? Like you Victorya? Running? Lying? I will confront my enemies, and I will prevail. General! I gave you an order" Darien said.

Scott pretended that he handcuffed Serena and took her to another booth. Serena then looked at Scott in the eye. "Please, he'll kill me"

"Endymion could never, he fell in love with you, he knows you'll be safe here" Scott told her

"I mean Carlton. I was the one who was supposed to kill him…please warn him again…I don't care for my life, but his is danger" Serena finished saying.

"I think you did great Serena. And then you are taken out of the cell by one of your guards, then you see Carlton and Endymion fight and you get in the way and then you get injured and you tell Endymion that he was right about her, about everything and then you die"

"Good...now if only my life was scripted I'll know what to do next" Serena joked. "I don't want to do the scenes with Diamond, he creeps my creeps out"

"Don't worry, after Friday you don't have to see him again if you don't want to"

Serena smiled at the frail hope that what her friend Scott was saying was right. A life without Diamond would be a good life.

"People gather around please" called from stage Mr. and Mrs. Lambert. Serena searched around and saw that Darien was talking with some of his classmates and all of them were already in costume.

Lita had done a splendid job bringing everyone to both a nostalgic feel of the past from William Shakespeare and a futuristic world of a Hunger Games fashion.

"We will start rehearsal in a minute, everyone should be getting ready while Mr. Shields and Ms. Tsukino practice once more with Mr. Ambrossio."

Serena and Darien went to stage while the music began to play.

"How is Abby?" Serena asked Darien while they walk upstairs to the stage.

"She is in recovery now, they believe she can make it, but they have to start quimo once more" Darien said

"Poor thing" Serena let out. As she walked to the center of the stage she turned around. She saw Diamond looking at her.

"Darien, I'm scared" Serena said, still looking at Diamond.

"Don't worry, I do know the dance, just let me lead you" Darien said taking her hand. She blushed…but she wanted to say that she didn't mean the dance, she meant her stalker.

Darien offered his hand to Serena and she took it. They vowed to each other, then Darien approached Serena and touched gently her cheek. He then, with his other hand slide gently Serena's back, got it locked to her shoulder blade and started dancing. 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3.

They heard the clapping from Mr. Ambrossio that signaled each step.

"Lox step, right, left, right, left and turn"

1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2 3

"Beautiful! Now Serena, open your right arm big, big, big, bend and Darien pick her up, slowly back up, turn, turn, turn."

All the while Serena thanked the Lord in heaven she wasn't wearing her heels, with flats the dance hurt enough. She was extending as much as she could her legs to form beautiful lines and she was extending her neck all the while maintaining her shoulders away from her neck. It was really difficult, but she got a great partner that was leading her in every single step.

On one turn she had to lift her right leg and draw a semicircle on the air, then, Darien took both her arms and lifted her high in the air so both her legs where extended. Then he brought her gently to the floor bending her so much her back was almost touching the ground. They came back up and in a brief movement Darien took her right arm, turned her, kissed her neck, glided his right arm through her side while Serena lifted her right leg in the air, Darien took it with his right hand and spin her three times in the air. As the music slowed down, Darien finished the spin leaving her to glide in the floor and he then finished the dance touching again her cheek.

"Hooray for the happy couple" Diamond said from the front bench as he was clapping with an air of hostility and sarcasm.

"It certainly deserves celebration Mr. Blackmoon." Mr. Ambrossio said. "Ms. Tsukino, you were simply marvelous." If it wasn't for Diamond, Serena would have been pleased. Darien sensed that. "Ignore him" he said to her. But she couldn't.

She then proceeded to try on her costume that Lita had worked very hard to create. She had three outfits. The first, the one she used on her first scene was a deep green. This dress was very old fashioned; it was long sleeved and corseted. It had a beautiful pattern of gold beads around the torso and the skirt was really heavy because of the material it was made. Serena was glad she didn't have to wear this dress for a long time. It was difficult to move in it.

The second dress was the one she was supposed to wear during the ball. She loved this dress a lot. It was a chiffon baby blue dress. The heart shaped bodice was embellished by a multitude of silver sequins. The skirt was very simple, A line, but it let her flow, perfect for dancing. This floor length dress had halter like straps that hugged her neck and then very long dramatic open sleeves that attached again on her wrists. This dress belonged on a ballroom floor.

The third dress was made out of stretch cotton, really fitted, paprika red, it had a high neckline and a very exposed back. The dress was meant for her last scene. It started off with Darien proposing marriage to Serena, well, I mean Prince Endymion to Duchess Victorya, then jealous Prince Carlton, seeing that Victorya is falling for Endymion conjures up a plan to kill him at the wedding. Victorya tries to warn Edymion but he doesn't trust her anymore seeing as she worked for the enemy and she still deny ever having met him before.

The play ended with the fight between Endymion and Carlton and Victorya, getting in the way to save Endymion got herself injured and subsequently killed at the end of the play. Serena wondered if perhaps this play was a twisted form of her life at the moment. Was she going to end up like Victorya, I mean Serenity her true identity, killed because a boy got obsessed with her? She hoped everything was a cruel coincidence and that nothing in that script was going to predict her near future.

Rehearsal finished around six o'clock that evening and Darien accompany Serena home at her insistence. For him to do it, she didn't need to insist so much, she just needed to ask, he was at her every order.

"Drama students have the day off tomorrow" Darien said as they reached their front porch. "You should rest tomorrow; you seemed very on edge today"

"I just want to be done with this play as soon as possible, I can't stand Diamond one more second" Serena said out of frustration.

"I'll see what I can do about that" Darien said chuckling a bit.

"Are you planning to do something to him?" Serena asked.

"Is best for you not to know anything Meatball Head, I don't want to crush your school record" Darien said mockingly.

"Is that bad?" Serena asked.

"No…it's not bad…I mean…it is but it isn't…it's enough to get him kicked out" Darien tried to explain.

"But he is so not worth that, you have to think about college Darien, You don't want to destroy your whole future because of him" Serena said.

"I won't I promise. Don't freak out, I have it under control" Darien insisted.

"You don't have it under control. You don't even know if he is planning to do something… he is very dangerous Darien…be careful" Serena insisted even more.

Darien looked at her suspiciously. "Do you know something you are not telling me?" Darien asked.

"What? No…I know nothing" Serena said, acting as if offended by the accusation.

"Are you telling me the truth?" Darien asked again.

"Yes" (No) Serena answered.

"You are not lying to me, right?"

"No" (Yes)

"Good, then I guess…will see each other on Friday" Darien said fidgeting.

"You won't visit tomorrow?" Serena asked with a sad smile.

"You want me to visit?" Darien asked with a smirk on his face, his classic smirk that Serena loved, but she didn't answer, just stared him down.

"Just give me tomorrow, I'm all yours after that" Darien said.

"Can I ask you something?" Serena said.

"Shoot" Darien answered moving closer to Serena.

"What exactly are we? I mean, I told you the truth, didn't I? That was the one thing you needed from me, right? To tell you the truth from where you knew me? You said that we could take it from there once I did that"

"And we are, we will take as slow" he said moving to her ear "as you want" he finished kissing lightly her neck.

"One day Meatball Head, that's all I am asking for" he said and then walked away from her doorstep.

Serena went straight to Sammy's bedroom where she began to change clothes. She put on her sweat pants and her mother's Brown sweater.

"I overheard you talking with Darien" Birdie said from the door.

"Oh Jesus, can't you stay in your side of the house for once?" Serena exclaimed.

"Listen, I didn't believe you for one second. You are more afraid of Diamond that you cared to share with Darien, aren't you?" Birdie asked.

"That's none of your business" Serena said.

"Hey, if you are in trouble maybe you should say something to dad"

"Don't try to act like the interested sister. For all I know, if anything happened to me you would be glad" Serena said.

"Come on, am I really that bad? What happened? Did he hurt you?" Birdie said, acting like the most innocent person in the world.

"He didn't do anything, ok? It's no big deal" Serena insisted.

"But something happened right?" Birdie guessed.

"It's no big deal Birdie" Serena said again.

"Did he force you to kiss him?" Birdie asked again.

Serena reminded quiet for a little while. "He _ tried to, but his brother came and I punched him in the nose. Now he is trying to scare me sending me text messages, leaving creepy voice mails. Please don't tell dad. I am afraid that if I say something, he might try to hurt me worse or even one of the girls. He threaded me"

"Serena that's really serious, you should talk to dad about this" Birdie said.

"It doesn't matter, I don't actually have proof that is him" Serena said.

"What do you mean?" Birdie asked.

"I don't know for a fact that it's his phone number, he could perfectly be using another phone and I have not a hint of proof is him sending the messages… what do they called it in Castle…circumstantial evidence" Serena said with an air of defeat in her voice.

"Show me the text messages" Birdie asked.

Serena showed Birdie her phone. "I'll try something I learn to do with this app you can download. I'll bring your phone in a minute." Birdie said taking Serena's phone. She was clueless as to what exactly Birdie was able to do, but perhaps she could help.

Serena went downstairs and helped her mom prepare dinner. They were making homemade pizza and Serena was helping making the salad.

"So…tomorrow you are going to be here all day, right?" her mom asked.

"Yeah, I'll try to memorize the rest of the lines for the play on Friday." Serena said

"Good, I miss having you here, it can get a little bit lonely here at times, you and Sammy are getting all grown up and I miss my babies" Ikuko said.

Serena smiled but didn't reply to her mother.

After dinner, when she stepped into her room, she found her phone on Sammy's night stand. Perhaps Birdie hadn't been able to do anything after all.

She felt asleep and woke up next morning at 9:00 a.m.

No Sammy or Birdie at all so she walked downstairs to see if her mother was around but saw that she wasn't in the kitchen or living room. A note in the fridge let Serena know that her mother had gone to the market to get ingredients for a nice lunch and dinner. There were two omelets on the stove and so she had breakfast. She served herself some apple juice and after her meal she cleaned the dishes in the sink.

The doorbell rang and she went to answer it. OMG! she thought.

"Mina?"

"Glad to see me I hope?" Mina asked with her arms wide open, waiting to receive a hug. Serena jumped to her arms and hugged her friend for what seemed forever.

"When did you come back?" Serena asked.

"Well… we weren't supposed to come for another two weeks, but I wanted so bad to see the play that we came back early" Mina said.

"Well, let's not waste any time here, let's go celebrate at the arcade!" Serena said taking Mina's hand with all intention to go straight to the arcade in her pajamas.

"Oh dear!" Mina exclaimed "I can't, Serena, I'm terribly sorry. My dad drove me here 'cause I insisted, but I am supposed to go an audition in an hour. Look, I promise that I'll ring you tomorrow and we'll make plans to meet on Saturday. How's that?" she said with an expectant smile.

"How can I say no?" Serena said, trying not to look too disappointed.

She went back to her house and went directly to her room. She opened her door and at the moment she was about to enter her room she knew something was off. Even though Birdie was staying there, she never left her closet door open, that and Serena felt a draft coming from her balcony, which only meant someone was there. She didn't go inside but went instead to her brother's room and took a baseball bat and her cell. She then, slowly climbed downstairs and into the kitchen to grab the phone. She put hers on the counter.

She dialed 9-1-

As she was about to finish the number someone grabbed the phone from her hand. She turned quickly and moved away.

It was Diamond.

He was smiling.

"You are not a very good host" he demanded.

"You are not a very good guest" Serena said taking the bat and positioning herself as she was about to hit a baseball.

"Don't worry, I am not here to hurt you" he said pulling his hands up.

"What do you want?" Serena asked.

"I want you lil' bunny"

"Stop calling me that. I am not afraid of you." She said

"Then why the bat? I just want to talk" Diamond said taking a step closer to her.

"Take one more step and I will beat the living crap out of you. I know what you do. You get girls in trouble. Just like you did to Annaleigh. You got her pregnant and when she told you, you gave her money to have an abortion. You are a horrible pig! You won't do that me! I know that's your plan so you can get back at Darien. " Serena said. After that she heard her mom's car on the driveway. "You here that?" she asked "That's my mom's car, so you better take a hike before she enters the house and I scream for her to call the police. Leave me the hell alone before I do it anyway. As far as I know this is trespassing." Serena said without an ounce of fear in her voice. "Get going Diamond, game is over"

In a sudden movement Diamond got a step apart from Serena taking the bat away from her.

"Yes I did that to Annaleigh, so what? It's over when I say it's over. You tell anybody about this conversation and I'll get your friend Amy expelled from school. I know it was her who got into my computer from the school's paper. Think about it" he said and left the house through the back door just as her mom entered the kitchen.

"Serena, honey what's wrong?" she said hurrying to attend to her daughter.

Serena looked to her mother with watery eyes. "Mom -" she said and cried in her mother's shoulders.

* * *

Friday afternoon, 3:30 pm.

The play had already began and she had just being called to stage. Serena was in her dressing room changing into her first gown.

"Serena?" called a first year with a package. "Someone left this for you" Serena, intrigued by the contents of the package, opened the box and found the dress she wore to her first pep rally completely drenched in red-blood paint.

As she saw the dress a horror expression struck her face. The first year was horrified. "Oh my God, is that blood?" she screamed.

"Don't be stupid it's only paint" Serena said. Then, her cell phone rang.

She answered the call and a voice said "Remember there are more ways I can get you than you can get me" then the call ended.

Out of rage she threw her phone at the mirror in front of her. She huffed for a few seconds before she regained her calm and then said to the girl, who had her hands hiding her face: "Sorry for the mess" signaling the million pieces of glass now on the floor.

She exited the dressing room and someone called her name. She jumped because of her alert state.

It was Darien.

Darien simply saw the expression on her face. She was absolutely frightened.

"Hey, what happened?" but she didn't answer, she just went and hug him.

"Serena, please tell me what happened" Darien demanded.

But she was out of words. What could she possibly say? That she had received a phone call and had no way of proving it was Diamond, that he was appearing every way she went? All of those things could only come to the conclusion that maybe she was paranoiac…crazy even. What could she say? That he came to her and said what? Nothing she could say could be taken in context…Diamond was that good… He was careful enough to do stuff that was creepy but not creepy enough to grant him an expulsion or even a warning. How could she prove any of it?

"Serena, come on, you are ghost pale, and you are freezing and chattering your teeth…come on. Tell me what's going on" Darien demanded again with her in his protective arms.

She was shaking out of control, she couldn't stop it.

She was scared to go to stage while Diamond was there; her first scene was coming in minutes. She couldn't take the anticipation, the lines that her classmates where reciting were coming really fast. The scene was almost over.

"It's nothing" she said to Darien finally.

"Don't be scared Buns, I am sure you are going to rock it tonight" Darien said sweetly kissing the top of her head.

"Aren't you a joy to watch" Diamond say loud enough for the two of them to turn around and listen. Serena clutch on to Darien even harder so he knew why she was so scared. She had to kiss him on the next scene.

A third year named Sophia approached them both. "Serena you are up next" said Sophia with a headset on her head. She then said some other stuff to the receiver of the headset. "Curtain one in two" Sophia practically pushed Serena onto stage as she simply went mute. She could see that Diamond was ready on the other side of the stage and he was waiting for her. She turned around to see Darien waiting for her backstage, but she couldn't find him.

The curtain aroused.

The bright lights were blinding her; she couldn't think…she forgot everything she was supposed to say.

"My dear" Diamond called.

Serena turned to look at him but said nothing.

The theater was absolutely silent. She turned to see for herself. Mr. and Mrs. Lambert where in the front row signaling Serena to continue with her line but she had forgotten.

Couple of seconds later as her silence continued a few kids in the back of the theater were laughing. One even yelled some nasty comment at her.

She was panicking at the moment so she decided to walk a couple of steps back and apologize; she couldn't possibly do the play.

She wasn't aware when Diamond caught her arm and turned her to him.

"You are not having second thoughts my dear, now are you?" Diamond asked in a menacing manner. "Victorya?" he asked her again.

"Get your hands off of me" she warned, finally talking. BTW none of that was scripted.

"You will do as I say Victorya. You will seduce Prince Endymion and our kingdom will finally take over this planet."

"I am not your slave Diam…" she thought for a moment she was going to call Diamond by his name on stage, which would have been a great mistake. "Carlton, you don't owe me and I owe you or your family nothing"

"Only that we saved you, remember? You came to us almost dead and we nursed you back to health" Diamond as Prince Carlton said.

"Your mother did!" Serena as Victorya exclaimed. "But your mother is dead; my duty to your family is over"

"It's over until I say it's over" Diamond said and with that he brought Serena for a much obligated kiss. She struggled under him. She punched repeatedly his chest but he was not backing out.

"Get off of me" Serena screamed…very genuinely. Darien's heart skipped a bit. He had a fire inside of him that he couldn't suffice. She was being assaulted and he couldn't do anything to stop it. But he did try. He tried to push Sophia aside who was guarding like a hawk who entered or exited the stage.

"Please let me pass, she is clearly uncomfortable" he tried to persuade

"Darien, no. Stay here!" she hissed over and over again.

Back on stage the struggle between Diamond and Serena continued until he finally let her go from that much extended and unwanted kiss.

Her knees failed her so she fell to the ground and started to cry, loudly.

Diamond walked in circles around her, like calculating every movement her pray made. Finally he stepped near the side of the stage and said: "Prepare for departure tomorrow. You will meet the prince at a masquerade ball. Victorya, I trust you to be a smart girl here. Your duty to my family may be over in the eyes of our people, but you still need a life to sustain yourself. Think about it. You can always be my queen once I take over Endymion's place" And with that Diamond left the stage leaving her alone crying in front of at the very least four hundred people.

She cried for a full minute on a full lung. Then she stood up from the ground. That was the queue for Leo Bennett and Sandra Cascade to enter the stage. Sandra was dressed as a maid. She came to her and asked her if she was okay.

"Please help me pack my things. I'll be going for a long trip" She said finally and left the stage in a hurry.

When she got there, the curtain moved down. Next scene was supposedly to be the beginning of the ball, when Endymion met Victorya. But as soon as she got backstage Mr. and Mrs Lambert were waiting for her. They were already yelling at Diamond.

"Don't get smart with me kid. I am not beyond of cancelling the play all together just to enjoy taking you to the Headmaster's office. Sass me one more time Blackmoon and I swear you'll be out of here before you can say Hairspray" Mr. Lambert said.

"That won't be necessary Carson, Ms. Tsukino, Mr. Shields and Mr. Blackmoon will accompany me there right now" the voice of Headmaster Carter said. Serena turned herself and look with her own eyes that the school's principal was actually requesting her presence. And by the way things looked; it couldn't be a good thing.

* * *

Leave a review guys, to show me your love.

Last chapter is coming next.

After that, a remasterized version of the whole story is going to take place before the sequel, so it's basically the same story but some details may change along the way so I advise you to stick out if you are interested at all in the sequel which will take place like twenty years after these events occur.

Why? Well, I think there's always a story after a "happy ending" not that this story will have an obvious one. And just so you know, I cracked. Something that many of you have wanted for a long time is happening, can you guess what it is? It has to do with Darien if anyone cares to make a bet.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

The show must go on

Her parents, Birdie, Darien's parents, Diamond's parents, Annaleigh and her parents where already there.

"Thank you all for coming in such short notice. I am aware that the school's play had to be cancelled and I am sorry for the inconvenience" Headmaster Carter said taking his seat. "Now Ms. Tsukino" he said to Birdie "If you please". Birdie stood up from her seat and moved in between what seem a very crowded room, to the Headmaster's desk to connect her laptop to a projector. She typed in some commands and then an image came to a larger screen in the Headmaster's desk as well.

It was Birdie and the seal of her school was in it. Serena had seen it a thousand times before since she had to watch every single documentary she did. Her father was so proud she had inherited something good from him.

Music instructed that the documentary was about to begin and so she began to speak "Good morning ladies and gentlemen. My name is Beatrix Tsukino and I am a reporter for the East Boston High Post. Today will have an interesting topic. Today, unlike any other day we'll take part on a story that most of us know is happening, but we do little to stop. What is really going on in teen relationships? Are they advisable and what do the parents really know about them? We'll have the very high and the very low of them today" Images of schools kids went on as the documentary followed. "I talked to a large number of people when I did this project. During these interviews I found several boys and girls that at early ages they already had boyfriends or girlfriends and they hadn't even told their parents"

Interview #1

"Would your parents approve?" Birdie asked a girl

"Not at all" the girl said

"How old are you?" Birdie asked

"I've just turned twelve" the girl said.

"Don't you think that's a little young to have a boyfriend?" Birdie asked.

"All my friends have boyfriends. I don't want to be the only one without one, 'cause then, who will I hang out with?" the girl said.

Documentary follows

"But this really isn't the only thing happening. Kids are entering their puberty having boyfriends and girlfriends just because it's in. What happens with the older kids?" Birdie said.

Interview #2

"How old are you?" Birdie asked and Serena recognized the girl, it was a classmate of Darien's, her name was Michiru Kaioh.

"I'm eighteen" she said pulling away her beautiful hair off of her face.

"And do your parents know you are gay?" Birdie asked.

"They do" she answered.

"How long have they known?" Birdie asked.

"I came out to my parents when I was about sixteen. I was fortunate enough that they had an open mind and they understood. I mean, it wasn't a total shocker for them" she said.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" Birdie asked.

"I do, actually"

"How you two met? Or how long have you two being a couple"

"We are in the same class and I guess we both knew at some point that we were into each other but never had actually said anything I think for fear of rejection, which is pretty common, much more when you are gay and in high school. And I have flirted with guys; I am not going to lie. You know? At our age we do a lot of stuff and sometimes we feel confused about who we are, but that doesn't change the fact that you like girls a certain way, you know?" Michiru said.

"Care to explain about the stuff we teens do?" Birdie asked.

"We go to parties" Michiru started "Things happen, and they sometimes get totally out of control, you know? There's booze everywhere, lots of it. It's like so easy in the kind of world we live, you know? Our parents are freaking CEO's of every single company in Wall Street, of course there's alcohol, of course there's partying… and things get totally out of control. Kids grow up thinking they own the damn world and so they think they are entitled to a lot of stuff they aren't" Michiru said.

Documentary follows

"Even though she was drifting off topic, I felt intrigued and wanted to ask. Which seemed like the right thing to do? Something told me that a story was wielding up here" Birdie said

Interview continues

"Like what?" Birdie asked.

"At a party, a year back. This guy… he started kissing me and when I wanted to stop, he went completely nuts. I mean, like he threw me against this wall because he felt that we had started something and he wanted to finish. I was in luck, my girlfriend found me and so he stopped. But then I realized that he started a rumor about me" Michiru said

"What was the rumor about?" Birdie said

"That I had slept with him, which is such a lie, I would never" Michiru said.

"Oh my God! What dirt bag! Whose they guy?" Birdie asked.

"Diamond Blackmoon" Michiru said.

Birdie had to stop the documentary because Diamond had started such chaos in the room. His parents had to stop him from making a complete disaster. After he calmed down the documentary continued.

"After listening about this Diamond character, I had to find out more. And more was what I found" Birdie continued with interviews to girls from all grades from Serena's school telling stories about Diamond. How he always started nice but then, always forced them to kiss him or even have sex with him. Then, a shocking interview came.

"What's your story with him" Birdie asked

"I think I was about sixteen, maybe younger. We were at a party in his place. I was in a very bad place. I didn't have that many friends, and I was lost, I still felt lots of guilt and bad feeling towards my sister's death. I started making very bad choices" it was Annaleigh who was talking, they were talking via Skype.

"What happened at the party?" Birdie asked, she was in Serena's room making the interview. She couldn't believe the extend of the project her sister, Darien and Annaleigh were in.

"I had a lot to drink in the party and he took me to this room and we started kissing. I didn't want to do it, but I didn't know how to stop it either. Every time I tried to leave or stop he would force me back to bed until we finally had sex. I hated every second of it" Annaleigh said looking sad. "He got me pregnant"

The room came completely silent and everybody looked at Annaleigh.

The documentary continued.

"I lost the baby… I had a miscarriage; I was like, maybe three or four months? He told me to get rid of the problem. He gave me money to go to an appointment in New York, but I didn't, I had already lost the baby. I went to New York anyway to do a modeling competition, he never found out I lost the baby. I guess he wouldn't even have cared".

Birdie stopped the documentary.

"You can't prove any of that" Diamond said.

"Oh son!" his mother said disappointed.

"The other Ms. Tsukino here present, very kindly gave us a recorded conversation you two had yesterday" Headmaster Carter said. "In this video you agreed having impregnated Ms. Roberts, Diamond" he said. Diamond paled at this revelation and looked over at Serena. "She also showed us some bruises on her arms from an altercation you had with her on your house three days ago. Your brother confirmed what happened. Your parents witnessed this"

"The Roberts's and Tsukino's lawyers have cut a deal with your family" Headmaster Carter announced.

"No one in this room will take this matter public or press charges in exchange of you going to a rehab facility for sexual addictions. After this, you are going away" Annaleigh said.

"Where to?" Diamond asked

Annaleigh smiled. "Far, far away" she said. "It's over". Annaleigh stepped closer to him and whispered just high enough for him to hear. "I found him, and you will never see him in your life" she stepped back and walked beside her parents and left the room.

"Mr. Blackmoon, you are excused as well. And I am afraid you are not welcome anymore in the school's grounds" Headmaster Carter said signaling the door, Diamond's parents ushered him to it and he left as well.

"So, Mr. Shields? Care to share anything with us?" Headmaster Carter asked.

Darien said nothing. "Anything Harvard, Yale or Columbia might be interested in knowing?" Headmaster Carter asked again.

"It was my idea, the video. I knew we needed enough evidence to make a point, to make a stand. I know it was sneaky, but I just couldn't aloud knowing what was happening and doing nothing. I convinced Annaleigh of going forward, I knew it was her testimony our whole case, and Serena's video just proved it" Darien said defending his actions.

"Very well" Headmaster Carter said.

"Are you going to call the schools?" Darien asked.

"Mr. Shields you are in luck, this matter is sealed, as far all we know, Mr. Blackmoon's expulsion was due to another subject entirely. You should know that it was in your luck Ms. Roberts parents wanted to cut the deal, if they hadn't and all the facts of the case have come to light, I would have expelled you as well…for misused of power and unethical behavior. You may go" Headmaster Carter commanded, he had his "I am disappointed in all of you" look in his eyes, but Darien didn't want to push the subject further … but he did anyway "What is going to happen to Annaleigh?"

"Ms. Roberts already graduated. She has her degree and she is leaving for Oxford this fall. Looks like everybody planned the timing perfectly" Headmaster Carter said. Darien definitely didn't want to push the subject any further after that comment so he left the room in the company of his aunt and uncle who patted gently his back.

After they left, Serena's family was the only one left.

"Ms. Beatrix Tsukino, is this going to be the last documentary done in my school?" Headmaster Carter asked.

"Yes sir" Birdie said.

"Good, you may go" Headmaster Carter commanded. Serena stood from her chair as well, but was stopped by the headmaster.

"A word with the youngest Ms. Tsukino if I may, please?" Serena looked at her parents and both of them nodded.

Serena sat down again and felt the heavy look of her headmaster coming upon her.

"Serena, I believe you have quiet the record of failed attendances, sleeping in class, not paying attention and you even came to have detention on your very first day in school!" Headmaster Carter recounted.

"I'm not proud sir" Serena whispered.

"Good…" and he let a breath out "Serena, if you ever find yourself in the position you were in, please notify to a professor, your parents to me personally… Annaleigh should have and because she didn't you could have being hurt. For Goodness, it's not enough to be brave and try to hide your feelings when something wrong is happening. Promise me that you will be smatter from now on, that you will report any incident you are not comfortable with, even if that doesn't make you cool" Serena didn't mean to giggle at that but she did.

"I promise" she said to the Headmaster.

"Thank God. Now… Mr. and Mrs. Lambert did praise your theatrical abilities, I am sorry you were not able to showcase them in full. Perhaps the play should be postponed to say… the beginning of next year? Give you time to learn properly every line?" Headmaster offered.

"A summer drama club?" Serena asked.

"That would be lovely indeed" Headmaster Carlton agreed and let her go.

Serena finally left the Headmaster's office. She was free of Diamond, her nightmare was over.

The veil of fear was lifted from her body. Diamond was going away; she would never have to see him again. All the pain she felt keeping secrets was gone. She was fear free because the man that threatened her, that stalked her, was gone. She opened the door from the Headmaster's office and stepped outside feeling happy, feeling finally able to breathe, to laugh, to love her friends, her family and Darien without any repercussion. Her nightmare was over.

She saw Darien talking to his uncles; he turned to look at her and gave a look, wanting to ask if everything was alright? She answered him with a smile. Everything was alright.

She started to walk towards him but was abruptly stopped by a strange force.

The feeling of being trapped against a wall? Had she just being pushed to a wall and her senses failed for a second? She felt a bump in her head.

"It's because of you!" Diamond yelled at her. By this minute Darien, her father and Diamond's father were trying to get him away from her.

"It's all because of you! You are going to pay for this Serena! Listen to me! You are going to pay for this!" He continued to yell.

"Walk away, son" Kenshin said menacingly and Diamond left her and walked away.

"Serena, are you alright?" Darien asked her.

"Yeah, I am fine" Serena said hugging Darien.

"Why don't we all go for a meal, I think we could all use the opportunity to rewind and think about something else" Ikuko offered going to her daughter, holding her arms open so Serena would hug her as well.

"P.F. Chang's?" said Ken.

"Dad, no offense but I am in no mood to celebrate" Serena said now hugging her mother.

"Serena, you shouldn't let a bad memory define your whole life" Darien said to her. Wasn't that exactly what she had let happen?

"Well, I am dying to eat those lettuce wraps again" Serena said shyly.

"See Bunny? Everything is going to be alright" Serena's dad assured her.

"Tell you what, why don't you and Darien take my car and John and I will take a ride with your parents. That will give us all a chance to catch up" Sylvia said giving her keys to Darien.

"Sounds great" Darien and Serena said. He took her hand and let her to the school's parking lot where, hand in hand they walk looking for Sylvia's black Prius.

Suddenly, as Darien was about to open the passenger's door, he pushed a startled Serena to the side of the car.

"What are you doing?" she asked seeing how Darien was rapidly approaching to her.

"I am going to kiss you. Long, hard, with tongue. Trust me" he whispered to her ear. Serena felt a thrill going down her spine. She felt his lips on hers just as the same time he moved his hands to her head to make the kiss even more intense. It was amazing.

"Thank you" she said after the delicious kiss was over.

"I hope this is not going to be the last one" Serena said.

"Not if I have a say in that, I want to spend the rest of my life kissing you" Darien said, kissing her forehead. "Come on Buns" he said and they got in the car.

Soon, they were driving along the highway that was supposed to lead them where the nearest P. 's was. They were supposed to meet their parents there. Nevertheless, when they were in the highway, a black sedan was approaching them quickly.

"Darien, that car is being following us for a while" Serena said, concern in both her eyes and voice.

"Yeah, since the last five miles I think" Darien said, concerned as well, watching the car on the rearview mirror. "What the hell!" Darien yelled as the car behind them crashed against them. Darien didn't stop the car, if anything; he was going even faster, trying desperately to lose the crazy guy behind them. "Are you alright Serena?" Darien yelled.

"Darien, what is going on?! Why is that guy trying to hurt us?" Serena cried; she was scared.

Darien didn't answer, he just changed lanes, but every time he did, the guy did as well.

Darien then made a sudden U turn, looking once more to lose the guy. But as he did the turn, the black sedan did as well, hitting their car once more. The hit was so strong that they felt how the force was sending them through the sky. Serena couldn't believe her eyes; the car was making a turn in the sky. The only thing she thought was protect his head. Darien reacted in the same instant as she remembered five years ago; he undid his security belt to hug her, trying to protect him from the fall.

When he made contact with her in that semi-second, as in slow motion, she covered his head with her hand.

She did not remember the crash, just the pain, excruciating pain in her arm.

"Sweetheart, my name is Doctor Scott. You were in a car crash. Can you hear me? If you can, please say something" a voice said, Serena didn't open her eyes, but her brain told her that she must ask something. _Where is he? Where is Darien?_ She tried to say his name but her mouth was making much sense.

"What was that sweetheart?" the voice said again.

"Darien!" she cried more clearly.

"That must be the other boy we found in the car" the voice hush, probably to someone else. "He is going to the hospital; we need to take you there now"

Serena felt movement around her and strong noises she couldn't distinguish. _Where am I? What happened? Where is Darien?_ She kept asking herself.

Lots of liquid she felt going down her face. _Blood perhaps? _ But the pain… the strongest pain was coming from her hand. The hand she draw with, she felt a large wound, acid falling through her arm, like fire, consuming her.

"Did you found it?" The voice hushed again. "Yes, maybe they will be able to attached it again, was a clean cut" the other voice answered. In that moment she opened her eyes. She knew what they were talking about. She saw it for herself. When she did, she moved her head and threw up.

Serena didn't remember much after that, she tried to stay awake, but couldn't.

Beeps, Peeps, tubes, sounds, screams, light, and pain.

She did answer when she was awake: My name is Serena Tsukino. I am from 10th City. My mom's number is: 555-09-87-56. Where is Darien? Is he alive? And please try to save my arm!

Twenty three hours past.

She opened again her eyes, still groggy from the medication.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty. How are you feeling?" Annaleigh asked her.

"Leigh? What happened?" Serena asked in hoarse voice.

"Don't try to say too much. You had an accident"

"Why are you dressed in black? Where is Darien?!" Serena cried.

"Hush, Serena! You are going to wake him up. He is the room right next to you; he came back from his surgery two hours ago. The ambulance brought him in, soon after that they took him for an MRI: a scan of his brain. They found a tumor, and they got it out. He is going to recover… You saved his life" Annaleigh said.

"He is fine? He is going to live?" Serena asked again.

"Yes" Annaleigh answered.

"Does he remember? Does he remember me?" Serena asked.

"I don't know" Annaleigh answered.

"And why are you dressed like this? Where are my parents? Is your sister alright? She didn't die, did she? Serena demanded quickly.

"Slow down! Your parents are in your house for a change of clothes, I said I could babysit you before the funeral. My sister if fine, she is recovering, from her seizure, she hasn't had anything else since that episode. Thank God the cancer didn't spread. She is going to need more quimo though, but she is strong, she will take it. Serena, the reason I am going to a funeral, it's because the person that crashed their car with yours is dead. That person was a student in the Academy and since Darien can't go, I am filling in for him"

"Who was it?" Serena asked.

"Emerald Green" Annaleigh said in a hush voice.

"Oh my God! I can't believe it; I thought it was Diamond, that he hated us so much that he wanted to kill us. But I can't believe Emerald is dead"

"Diamond is Montana by now, he won't hurt any of us anymore. Emerald… I can't imagine why she did, what she did. What I do know is that she was complety blinded by Diamond... I suspect he, somehow had something to do with all of this, but I just can't prove it. It's just a hunch. Emerald had being saving so much hatred in her heart that she couldn't see clearly. She was jealous of many things, including you. I hope that now she finds peace whereever she is" Annaleigh finished. After their conversation, a nurse came in to check on Serena's vitals and she asked when she could see Darien.

"They are in love" Annaleigh said to the nurse.

They told Serena that right now, she couldn't, she needed to focus in her recovery. That's when she noticed her arm. She didn't feel much pain, perhaps because of the heavy dosage of morphine she felt in her organism. Her arm was attached to a whole series of bandages and wires.

The nurse explained her that during her accident she suffered an amputation. Since it was a clean cut, the surgeons got a change to re-attach it.

After this, the attending in charge of her case got in her room to make rounds with his interns. They presented her case.

Serena Tsukino, 14 years old. Car crash victim, trauma in her right arm. Got an amputation from below her elbow. Surgery was performed to re-attach it. Pinkness in her arm showed that blood supply was restored and that probably the recovery could take about six months. Due to some complications with the nerves, she was probably going to present numbness and involuntary movements from time to time.

Serena let a tear fall. She probably wasn't going to be able to draw like she did before.

The next day, she got a visitor. His head has completely bandaged. His eyes remained the same shade of midnight blue and his mouth was asking how was she feeling.

"You are alive, that's all I care about"

"You saved my life Buns"

"You saved mine first"

"I remember…" Serena looked in his eyes again. "I remember everything" and he smiled.

Love above all.

The end.

* * *

I want to thank the fans that have folloedw me till the very end. I want to thank the friends that have read this before any of you did.

I want to thank the people that liked and favorited me and this story and most of all I want to thank the writers of other stories which inspired me to write as well.

Thanks to the very good friends I made during these years, the Remasterized version will begin to upload next week. I won't take down HYHE, but the new version is the one that will have a sequel, so if you want to read that one you might want to add me to your fav list in case I upload sooner than planned.

I love this anime... so as a thank you gift I am going to give you a small hint of what's coming next.

First, there will be a Rini, there will be Helios, of course there is Annaliegh and lots of Serena and Darien.

The sequel will take place twenty years from now and it's mostly about someone coming back into their lives that caused a huge scandal. There will be a trail going on and someone might even end up in jail... so everything it's going to be extra juicy from now on.

Hope you have enjoyed, I know I have.


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